Jeux Interdits (Forbidden Games)
Here in Korea, I've managed to amass a small library of classic films on DVD from the bargain bins of various discount stores, where they can be bought for as low as 4,800 won ($4.16).
I have just finished watching one of my latest additions, Jeux interdits (1952). I had never heard of the movie before, but bought it because of the stills showing a cross and a priest on the back. My wife suggested that this film was common knowledge to Koreans. [It is an understatement to say that we Americans tend to be ill-informed of movies that do not come from Hollywood, something that I have spent the last 15 years trying to correct in myself.]
Here is a Plot Summary for Jeux interdits:
Sounds pretty morbid, huh? But the film is not at all sentimental and, surprisingly, contains a lot of humor, albeit French humor (it's helpful here to remember that the French awarded Jerry Lewis the Legion of Honor). The film has a moving classical guitar soundtract by Narciso Yepes. There is also a lot of religious content: young Paulette learning her prayers and catechism from Michel, a traditional funeral mass, confessions. Don't expect a Hollywood happy ending though; this one ends with a kick in the gut.
So good and moral was this film, I was a bit surprsied it didn't make The Vatican Film List. However, the following description of that list explains why this omission should not be considered a slight:
One final thought: watching the beginning of the film, when Paulette loses her both parents and her dog (!) to German strafing, I could not help but wish that President Bush had seen this film before launching America's first "pre-emptive" war, whether or not it would have swayed his decision at all.
N.B.: The film seems not yet to be availble on DVD in the US. A search on Amazon.com led me to some soft-core porn movie.
from Jeux interdits
Here in Korea, I've managed to amass a small library of classic films on DVD from the bargain bins of various discount stores, where they can be bought for as low as 4,800 won ($4.16).
I have just finished watching one of my latest additions, Jeux interdits (1952). I had never heard of the movie before, but bought it because of the stills showing a cross and a priest on the back. My wife suggested that this film was common knowledge to Koreans. [It is an understatement to say that we Americans tend to be ill-informed of movies that do not come from Hollywood, something that I have spent the last 15 years trying to correct in myself.]
Here is a Plot Summary for Jeux interdits:
- "A small girl fleeing the Nazi conquest of Paris in 1940 with her family loses both of her parents and her dog to a strafing attack. She is taken in by a nearby peasant family and quickly develops a close friendship with their son. When she buries the dog, the two of them decide to create an entire animal cemetery and then go to great lengths to obtain crosses for the graves."
Sounds pretty morbid, huh? But the film is not at all sentimental and, surprisingly, contains a lot of humor, albeit French humor (it's helpful here to remember that the French awarded Jerry Lewis the Legion of Honor). The film has a moving classical guitar soundtract by Narciso Yepes. There is also a lot of religious content: young Paulette learning her prayers and catechism from Michel, a traditional funeral mass, confessions. Don't expect a Hollywood happy ending though; this one ends with a kick in the gut.
So good and moral was this film, I was a bit surprsied it didn't make The Vatican Film List. However, the following description of that list explains why this omission should not be considered a slight:
- "Titled simply 'Some Important Films,' this document is not meant to offer a set of definitive or magisterial 'top fifteen' lists, nor to establish these particular films as definitely more worthwhile than any film that was not included. 'Not all that deserve mention are included,' the pontifical council acknowledged in releasing the list."
One final thought: watching the beginning of the film, when Paulette loses her both parents and her dog (!) to German strafing, I could not help but wish that President Bush had seen this film before launching America's first "pre-emptive" war, whether or not it would have swayed his decision at all.
N.B.: The film seems not yet to be availble on DVD in the US. A search on Amazon.com led me to some soft-core porn movie.
Redeemed by Our Savior, I work out my salvation with fear and trembling in Pohang, South Korea, where I live with my wife, daughter, and son and teach English at a science and technology university. Baptized a Methodist and raised a Missouri Synod Lutheran in Buffalo, NY, I spent six years as a guest of the Anglican Communion before being received by the Grace of God into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church on the Feast of Saint Andrew, my patron, anno domini 2002.
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