A young French girl orphaned in a German air attack is befriended by the son of a poor farmer, and together they try to come to terms with the realities of death.A young French girl orphaned in a German air attack is befriended by the son of a poor farmer, and together they try to come to terms with the realities of death.A young French girl orphaned in a German air attack is befriended by the son of a poor farmer, and together they try to come to terms with the realities of death.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 8 wins & 1 nomination total
Marcel Mérovée
- Raymond Dollé
- (as Pierre Merovée)
Denise Péronne
- Jeanne Gouard
- (as Denise Perronne)
André Enard
- Le premier gendarme
- (uncredited)
Marcelle Feuillade
- La mère de Paulette
- (uncredited)
Roger Fossey
- Le père de Paulette
- (uncredited)
Louis Herbert
- Petit rôle
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn a television interview ("Vivement Dimanche Prochain", France 2, 17 April 2005) Brigitte Fossey, who played the little Paulette, revealed that the film had originally been shot as a short, and then it was later decided to extend it into a feature film. Unfortunately she had lost her milk teeth and Georges Poujouly (who plays the boy Michel) had had his hair cut to play in We Are All Murderers (1952). So, in many scenes of the movie Paulette has false teeth and Michel is wearing a wig.
- GoofsThe poor parents are killed by a Focke-Wulf 190. This kind of plane didn't exist at the moment of the "battle of France" in May and June 1940.
- Crazy creditsThere are two alternate opening credits:The main credit starts with a story book and a female hand opens the book to reveal the credits. The alternate still has the same book but this time we are introduced to the two main characters who are sitting by a lake. In this version, Michel's hand is turning the page and in between the scenes he tells Paulette that he's going to tell a story.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Le ciné-club de Radio-Canada: Film présenté: Jeux interdits (1959)
Featured review
A timeless story of youth struggling to remain innocent in a world that is unclean, uncouth and rocked by war.
This movie is a solid reminder of how a film does not need to be graphically violent, sex- ridden, and controversy-drenched to really affect the viewer. I picked this movie up from my local library and have watched it twice in the last two days. I chose this title simply because it bore the Criterion Collection emblem on the jacket cover and I had heard nothing about the movie at all before that time.
That being said, i knew very little of what to expect nor would i be prepared for the power of this movie.
From the opening scenes, the audience is thrown into a world of chaos and terror. This world is then filtered through the eyes of Paulette, a young french girl, as she struggles to find safety and peace from the destruction and displacement of world war two. She meets a young farm-boy, Michel, with whom she instantly bonds. Michel and Paulette begin to play games (hence the title) and create worlds separate from the noise and confusion of adults. Together they search for peace within their microcosm, and, in their own way, serve as symbols for love and friendship as Michel attempts to constantly make Paulette happy and Paulette, in turn, gives Michel something his large family never has time to award him: love.
Through breathtaking cinematography and flawless acting, Forbidden Games captivates and holds that captivation for its entirety. With strong anti-war messages this film still pertains to the present and will continue to stay relevant so long we as a human race continue to make war. There will always be children that will have to somehow rationalize the seemingly unfathomable actions of adults and there will always be adults who should turn to their children to learn the simple pleasures of life ignored in the bustle of growing old.
That being said, i knew very little of what to expect nor would i be prepared for the power of this movie.
From the opening scenes, the audience is thrown into a world of chaos and terror. This world is then filtered through the eyes of Paulette, a young french girl, as she struggles to find safety and peace from the destruction and displacement of world war two. She meets a young farm-boy, Michel, with whom she instantly bonds. Michel and Paulette begin to play games (hence the title) and create worlds separate from the noise and confusion of adults. Together they search for peace within their microcosm, and, in their own way, serve as symbols for love and friendship as Michel attempts to constantly make Paulette happy and Paulette, in turn, gives Michel something his large family never has time to award him: love.
Through breathtaking cinematography and flawless acting, Forbidden Games captivates and holds that captivation for its entirety. With strong anti-war messages this film still pertains to the present and will continue to stay relevant so long we as a human race continue to make war. There will always be children that will have to somehow rationalize the seemingly unfathomable actions of adults and there will always be adults who should turn to their children to learn the simple pleasures of life ignored in the bustle of growing old.
helpful•121
- judyblueeyes1969
- Oct 2, 2006
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Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $19,889
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,316
- Apr 26, 2015
- Gross worldwide
- $19,889
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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