By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Yann Samuell
Starring: Emmanuelle Grönvold | Gérard Watkins | Guillaume Canet | Joséphine Lebas-Joly | Marion Cotillard | Thibault Verhaeghe
Original language title: Jeux d'enfants
Country: belgium, france
Year: 2004
Running time: 93
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364517/combined
Hilary says: “Julien (Guillaume Canet) and Sophie (Marion Cotillard) are best friends from the moment they meet in primary school. Julien finds Sophie with her backpack dumped out into a puddle by classmates who are teasing her for being Polish. To cheer her up, he engages in a dare to release the brake on their idling school bus. This first dare sets off a string of dares that continue throughout their adolescence. As one dares the other, they pass a tin carousel (given to Julien by his late mother) back and forth. Naturally, as they get older the dares escalate, further alienating Julien and Sophie from their families and the possibility of having other close friends. Also, the emotional dimension of their relationship comes into play to unsatisfying results.
“The over-saturated color palette and magic realism will feel quite familiar to fans of AMELIE. However, once Julien and Sophie reach college age, the story evolves into more of a straightforward romantic comedy, and drags a bit. The end of the story recaptures some of the surreal tone of the earliest scenes, but its dual endings may prove unsatisfying for the viewer. 2 1/2 cats”