Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

L'Enfance nue (1968)

Director: Maurice Pialat

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Pialat's first feature is a wonderfully delicate study of a ten-year-old boy and his decline into delinquency when boarded out with foster parents after being abandoned by his mother. With Truffaut as co-producer, comparisons with Les Quatre Cents Coups are inevitable, but there is really little resemblance between the two films except in theme and refusal to sentimentalise. Instead of focusing on the child, Pialat concentrates on the adults: the foster parents puzzledby the boy's delinquency since he so clearly responds to their affection; the ancient grandmother with whom he breaks through to a special relationship (very warm and funny); the welfare and adoption officers, carrying out their jobs with weary patience, but tending to treat the children as pets rather than as human beings. It's a film in which nuance is everything; amazingly, given that Pialat was working exclusively with non-professionals, the performances are stunning.

Author: TM

Time Out Film Guide


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

Guy Ritchie on ‘RocknRolla’

Guy Ritchie on ‘RocknRolla’

Wally Hammond talks to Guy Ritchie about his latest film, ‘RocknRolla’ which sees him safely back in his old manor among the familiar carnival of villains, scams and high-octane spills and thrills

Saul Dibb on ‘The Duchess’

Saul Dibb on ‘The Duchess’

Dave Calhoun discovers from director Saul Dibb that his latest, 'The Duchess’ is far from your typical aristos-in-love movie

Classic Film Club

Classic Film Club

For this new series, every week Tom Huddleston will watch a classic film that he's never seen before.

Opinion: Can George Lucas still make ‘small’ movies?

Opinion: Can George Lucas still make ‘small’ movies?

With the release of animated spin-off 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars', Tom Huddleston wonders whether George Lucas will ever return to his roots.

Marc Forster on the new Bond movie

Marc Forster on the new Bond movie

Dave Calhoun catches up with Marc Forster, the director of ‘Quantum of Solace’, as, in a race against time worthy of his fictional subject, he strives to finish editing the latest in the 007 spy franchise