Les enfants terribles is a 1950s psychological drama (thriller? horror?) depicting two siblings with dark secrets. When I finally sat down to watch it, I was curious as to how far it could/would go in depicting what's up with these two, who have an incestuous relationship. The 1950s were a time of censorship in Hollywood, but not so much across the Atlantic. As it turns out, the depiction here is largely implied, whispered; at first, it seems unfathomable, given how rotten they are to each other. As it goes on, you can kind of figure out what this film is going for, and it is intriguing- the two are siblings in a very real sense. Siblings squabble, they have sibling rivalry, but they can also love each other. This takes it to the umpteeth degree, and I hit that epiphany when they're in standing in the bathtub. Two people are standing outside the bathroom and hear the siblings screaming; one says they sound unhappy, the other says they're happy, and water comes pouring out from underneath the door crack. It goes a bit far in both directions (Come near me, come to my bedside, come off the top bunk and join me).
In other ways, Les enfants terribles picks up steam. The acting in the first scene may not be perfect; the narration feels slightly intrusive; but it picks up that dark feel, and we begin to feel, as the sister says, hypnotized.
In other ways, Les enfants terribles picks up steam. The acting in the first scene may not be perfect; the narration feels slightly intrusive; but it picks up that dark feel, and we begin to feel, as the sister says, hypnotized.