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Un Sac de Billes (1975)

Director: Jacques Doillon

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From Time Out Film Guide

Doillon's facility for extracting astonishing, apparently spontaneous performances from child players presumably explains his involvement in this adaptation of Joseph Joffo's autobiographical best-seller, describing the experiences of a Jewish family during the Occupation. Always on the move, pretending to be Catholic, to be Algerian, splitting up and reuniting, never safe: the family's adventures are nothing if not affecting. But for Doillon, with his evident loathing of 'big scenes' and push-button responses, the film becomes an exercise in deflection, with all the obvious drama pushed into the background, the children's games and fantasies or a confusion over some orange juice taking precedence over Nazis, police raids and so on. The material may have been uncongenial, but Doillon does his honourable best by it.

Author: BBa 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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Cast & crew

Director: Jacques Doillon

Cast: Richard Constantini, Paul-Eric Schulmann, Joseph Goldenberg, Reine Bartève, Michel Robin, Dieter Schidor full cast

Genre(s): War

Duration: 99 mins


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