Ensofter Overrated and overhyped

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

pauls-room From the moment José Berghmans wonderful music loudly bursts through the opening credits, and we see the French countryside spread out before us, the scene is set for some comedic kid's action. And the film doesn't fail in its presentation of kid's war games as adventures of childhood than the adult realities. Full of French flavour and populated with excitable adults and children, it's a hilarious picture of how children play together. The penalty for being captured is the loss of all your buttons and the method of one gang to avoid this is a hoot! I watched it without sub-titles and although I don't speak French, it still had me in fits of laughter. Petit Gibus is so funny when, plied with Calvados, he gets very drunk and very merry. This is a film that belies the fact that films need computer graphics and violence to be watchable. This film recalls an era when simples games and adventures were all that were needed to fill your days.

sansay I don't even recall how old I was when I saw this movie. Probably 7 or 8 years old. The thing is, I never forgot having seen it there, with a bunch of other kids from the orphanage where I was growing up. And I never forgot that I had one of the best times going to the theater and watching it. But a lot of the story was fuzzy in my memory, as I am 47 at the time of this writing. And watching it again last week made me aware of how much there was that I didn't get at the time... the gravity of what the children had done, repeating the silly behaviors of adult, but with a child's perception of the world. Yes, it is funny, and charming, a close up to children's world, with its naive, fresh outlook, its joys and sorrows. Very enjoyable!!!

dlkumler This unforgettable movie about poor, rural French kids who battle each other as representatives for the "republic" or for the "monarchy" in the woods after school. The loser has his buttons knifed off by the winner; since the loser has only 1 pair of trousers he must ask his mama to sew on his buttons.... This "simple" outcome has stuck with d me for 20 years--this great simple film that explores how children unwittingly play out their parents' point of view and how that affects their developing identity. It is wondrously un-American: it's not about individuality triumphing over; it is a view of a world that America has never filmed or explored: one where poor people have character but are condemned to repeat unwinnable battles of the past.

Zzaz82 I used to watch this film when I was little. My sister and I actually destroyed the tape because of two much use. Some may say that it's only for children, but it's also an obvious and delightful allegory of the two World Wars. Of course, if you're not fluent in French, it doesn't really worth watching it, because everything is in the lines. It's a wonderful tribute to French people, French countryside life, French nation in general. The children are giving great performances, being touching, cute and above all realistic!!! Just watch it and enjoy! Vive la France!