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What do you know, I have a writeup handy for Forbidden Games as well. Enjoy (another close, but no cigar movie for my ballot).
Forbidden Games, like Grave of the Fireflies, features children relying on fantasy to cope with horror; in this case, Germany's 1940 invasion of France. After losing her parents and dog while fleeing Paris, five-year old Paulette takes refuge at a farm, where she bonds with the farmer's young son Michel. The kids bury the dog, and after agreeing that her pet needs company, they make a game out of burying dead animals as well as looting crosses to memorialize their graves. Their escapism is understandable not only because of the war: the grownups in their community are abusive, neglectful, prideful and deceitful. Naturally, the more the adults become aware of what Paulette and Michel are up to, the more their game - and more devastatingly, their friendship - gets corrupted. It all amounts to a moving and affecting story that proves that while the purity and innocence of youth fade, the process is needlessly painful - not to mention shorter-lived - when it happens in an environment full of needless cruelty. The quality of the movie's storytelling and filmmaking is top notch, but it’s the terrific performances of Brigitte Fossey as Paulette and Georges Poujouly as Michel that make it a classic. They are up there with Bjork in Dancer in the Dark and Haing S. Ngor in The Killing Fields as the very best performances by non-professionals.
Forbidden Games, like Grave of the Fireflies, features children relying on fantasy to cope with horror; in this case, Germany's 1940 invasion of France. After losing her parents and dog while fleeing Paris, five-year old Paulette takes refuge at a farm, where she bonds with the farmer's young son Michel. The kids bury the dog, and after agreeing that her pet needs company, they make a game out of burying dead animals as well as looting crosses to memorialize their graves. Their escapism is understandable not only because of the war: the grownups in their community are abusive, neglectful, prideful and deceitful. Naturally, the more the adults become aware of what Paulette and Michel are up to, the more their game - and more devastatingly, their friendship - gets corrupted. It all amounts to a moving and affecting story that proves that while the purity and innocence of youth fade, the process is needlessly painful - not to mention shorter-lived - when it happens in an environment full of needless cruelty. The quality of the movie's storytelling and filmmaking is top notch, but it’s the terrific performances of Brigitte Fossey as Paulette and Georges Poujouly as Michel that make it a classic. They are up there with Bjork in Dancer in the Dark and Haing S. Ngor in The Killing Fields as the very best performances by non-professionals.
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