Un sac de billes

I wandered between the channels and there it was, an emotional movie with another amazing holocaust survival story. Especially in these days we must remember how human beings can become animals and treat other humans with an un-human treatment. Remember and never forget that history is starting to repeat itself and do what ever we can not to get there once again.

It is a story that is based on true events, which occurred to Joseph Joffo, the writer and main character in this movie. It is a family story and especially brothers' special bond and connection between young Jo and his brother - Maurice. They are both finding themselves running from the Nazis rising in France and trying, time to time, to unite with the rest of their family.

The story is written and performed with "lite" way of telling it. A lot of funny bits, that makes the horrific era to get a little bit softer, then it is remembered through out history pages. As Roberto Benigni tried to make a comedy out of his story, Christian Duguay tries his luck also and makes a big drama with a lot of thrilling moments and most important, funny moments that would let the plot go smoother in the viewers throat.

Sometimes it feels that Duguay is trying to avoid the monstrosities, in order to stay at reasonable limits of drama, but the movie illustrates properly the difficulties and the horror the Jewish community was, at those times, that mustn't even show any way of returning back to us. Excellent movie that doesn't stand out at its genre, but does the job and keeps the viewer involve and fascinated through all of its runtime.

I've seen a lot of movies about the Holocaust but this one was a little different in mood and it really drew me in. Set in France in WWII it focuses on the true story of two young Jewish children escaping the Nazis. The movie succeeds in being both shocking and charming. The charm is mostly in the characters, but it also comes from the beautiful vibrant colours and the quaint French villages. The shocking part of the movie is of course the Nazis, in this case their tenacious pursuit of every last Jew, even such innocent young children. The aggressiveness of their interrogations is appalling.

The main characters are perhaps a little too perfect, much like the setting, but this didn't detract from the message. It seemed to me that the story was being told from a child's simplistic perspective. The movie doesn't try to convey the scale of the catastrophe always keeping a narrow focus on this family, however by keeping the story so confined, by being just a microcosm of the holocaust, I think the horror of the events are made all the more powerful.

The two main characters of A Bag of Marbles are young Jewish brothers, Joseph and Maurice, whose lives are upended by the German invasion of France.

They live peacefully in Paris with their parents and two older brothers, until the occupation forces them to flee to the south, where they find temporary refuge - at least until the Nazis tighten their grip on the entire country.

Yes, it's another film about the Holocaust. And no, I don't understand the so-called "reviewers" who complain about that. If the subject matter bothers them, perhaps they should check the synopsis - or better yet, skip it altogether. As Holocaust films go, this one is exceptionally well made, with strong performances and moments that genuinely move. One especially powerful scene shows Jo's father slapping him to force a denial of his Jewish identity, a brutal act done out of desperate love. Another, more subdued but equally poignant, is Jo's failed attempt at romance with the daughter of a collaborator.

Definitely worth watching.

It is difficult to find the words to review a movie - and even more assign a rating - on a subject like the holocaust, drawing a line between an objective review of the filmic qualities of the movie and the emotional impact of its context. Nevertheless, I found it beautiful, delicate, moving, excruciating - even more so knowing it comes from a true story. The performance of the key actors is impeccable, always perfectly measured even in the most dramatic moments; the narrative tension is maintained high throughout the whole movie between the brutal reality of the events and the poetry of such reality seen through the eyes of a little, brave kid. Personally, I place Un Sac de Billes next to Schindler's List and La Vita é Bella; a movie that needed to be made and needs to be seen.

I am very interested in movies about the last world war. What makes me sad is how brutal the chase was against Jewish people and children. This true story let since long time again tears in my eyes. I mean Patrick Bruel and the two boys played their roles very convincingly and with lot of passion. The filming locations in Nice and Savoie have been well presented. I liked it very much and it was never boring. There were lot of turns and some painful scenes that touched me a lot. Christian Dugay directed this historical remake with full of attention and respect. I didn't see the first one but the last is perhaps even better than the original version.

If you liked this genre of movie don't miss Der Letzte Zug, Son of Soul, Die Fâlscher, The Pianist, Sarah's Key or Elser. If you are interested read my critics on this site for all these mentioned great movies.

8/10