Forbidden Games Review

girl by locker says: It has been a while since I have seen a movie this good. From the first scene in which we see Parisians fleeing their city across a bridge being attacked by Nazis, to the final, gut-wrenching scene where we see Paulette yelling in the crowded train station for Michel, I was hooked. The plot is simple - a young girl is orphaned while her family flees from Paris and is taken in by a peasant family. The girl, Paulette, befriends the young boy in the family, Michel and as a way to cope with death and the horrors around them, they fall into a fantasyland and begin creating a cemetery for dead animals and bugs they find. I read a review that stated the movie is a masterpiece because it does not compromise on two things: "the horrors of war and the innocence of childhood" and I couldn't agree more. Rene Clement, the director, does not shy away from the despair and awfulness that is war nor does he he fall into a trap of overly sweet dialogue with Paulette and Michel. He also does an amazing job working with the two child actors. This movie, hands down, is a must see. I give it 5 out of 5 stars on Netflix, and I would give it more if I could. A brilliant look at how death and war could be perceived by children.

Juror #3 says: I'm glad we chose to watch Forbidden Games, it's our first international film as a part of our film study. I enjoyed seeing the roots of what has made French Cinema my style of choice. For instance - patience with the story, reoccurring musical themes, and thoughtful cinematography. One of the glaring differences between the American films we have watched up to this point and Forbidden Games is the framing of a scene. Where as the American films like to center the focus of a scene, Forbidden Games off-sets the focus of the scene thereby creating the feeling of a story within a larger world.
Overall I thought the movie was really well directed, with a fantastic plot line. But it seemed to lack a compelling secondary throughline which would have helped make the film a bit more engaging and impactful in the end. Overall I rate the movie 3/5 stars and applaud the classic French production style.