Les enfants de la chance

Les enfants de la chance (2016) is a French movie shown in the U.S with the translated title The Children of Chance. (Note that, for some reason, IMDb only lists this film with its French title.) The movie was written and directed by Malik Chibane.

Lucien (portrayed extremely well by Eliott Lobrot) is a young Jewish teen-age boy who is thrown down concrete steps by his former friends. The systematic deportation of Jews has begun, and anti-Semitism is everywhere. Believe it or not, this violent attack saves his life. He is being taken to the hospital while the rest of his family is rounded up by the French police.

Within a few minutes, we learn that Maurice has tuberculosis of the bone of his broken leg. Again, amazingly, this is good luck. He's sent to a hospital for children with chronic diseases, where he's relatively safe from the Germans. (However, shortly after that, "The Free Zone" was invaded by the Germans, so the German army was in direct control of the entire country.)

The rest of the film depicts Julian's life in the hospital, where he bonds with the other children on his ward. He is protected by the stern physician, Dr. Daviel (Philippe Torreton) and a kind nurse, Véronique (Pauline Cheviller).

This is a fascinating film. The cruelty of the Germans is taken for granted. At one point, a grateful German colonel asks the doctor for just one small gift. It's "a few Jews." The resilience and good morale the boys maintain is amazing. I think it's realistic, but we can't know.

For the record, the publicity states, "Family friendly! Suitable for ages 10 and up." It's not. Do you really want your 10-year-old to see a movie where a German officer hits a sick young boy and knocks him down? Do you want your child or grandchild seeing a scene where a doctor tells another sick boy that if he wants to leave the hospital, they will have to first amputate his leg? Apparently, somewhere along the line, someone decided that a film about children must be a film for children. Not a safe assumption. Luckily, I didn't see any young people in the audience.

We saw this movie at the excellent Dryden Theatre in the George Eastman House Museum. It was part of the extraordinary Rochester International Jewish Film Festival. It will work as well on the small screen, because almost all of the action takes place within the hospital.

The Children of Chance has a very low IMDb rating of 6.4. As I write this review, it only has 43 ratings, so it's possible that this rating will go up. My advice is to ignore the rating, and try to see the movie if you can find it.

My advice also is to get on the RIJFF mailing list, because some of the films will be re-shown over the next 12 months. Any movie lover in Upstate New York will enjoy this festival. Save dates in mid-July 2018 so that you can attend.

Only one review ,an American one;apparently ,the French don't care .

Based on a true story , the hero intervenes in voice over at the end of the film ,at the time of making ,he was 85 then .

It's a deeply moving movie ,in the grand tradition of Malle's "au revoir les enfants " and Doillon's "un sac de billes" : the fate of Jewish children during WW2 in occupied France ;some were saved ,hidden in schools or covents by just men and women at their own risk...

Maurice spent the occupation in a hospital ,under a generous doctor's and his devoted nurse's watchful eye ;both were heroes in the shadow.

The shameful round up of Jews in the Paris Velodrome d'hiver by the French gendarmes (July 1942) is showed in admirably succint style:as he is driven back home on an ambulance ,Maurice catches a glimpse of his mom and sister forced into the bus :"it's only a police control ",he's told ,before a providential fall in the stairs makes him wind up in another hospital.

But there the doctor (Philippe Torreton),diagnoses TB and he's confined in a room with other children.

That's the strength of the movie : all the events are seen through children's eyes,some are Jews,some are not ,all stand together ,all share agonizing treatments (I read depictions of them and the movie is accurate) and small joys : one play the accordion and they sing together .A schoolteacher ,Charles (Antoine Gouy ) comes on Thursday to give them some education : at the time ,and till 1972, it was the children's day off ,we will learn that this teacher works on a voluntary basis; in a normal school , Charles would not have been allowed to talk about De Gaulle and the allies, he would have been given away to the Gestapo .

Charles ' s attempt at a murder of a German officer is witnessed by several children who try to piece together ...is Charles a coward?

But there are things the children cannot know : the teacher is probably a resistant fighter,but his fate will remain mysterious ; the dilemmas of the doctor, who struggles to be faithful to his medical code of ethics : shall we hand the Jewish children over to the nazis ? (if we don't ,all our patients will be sacrificed ) who shall we treat when there's only enough penicilin for two patients?.

The physical examination ( circumcision) begins as a terrifying scene but almost ends up as a farce ,thanks to the doctor's tricky plasters;but smiles freeze when the ambulance take away the sacrificed lambs .

One can tone it down a little for the Abel/Cain hackneyed topic: the saintly doctor and his brother ,who belongs to the Milice ;the children using (a repeated scene) the cleaning man as a punching-bag is neither funny nor charitable of them .

But these "good luck children" are endearing , and the movie is to be recommended ,if only for their spontaneity.

Based on a true story , the hero intervenes in voice over at the end of the film ,at the time of making ,he was 85 .

It's a deeply moving movie ,in the grand tradition of Malle's "au revoir les enfants " and Doillon's "un sac de billes" : the fate of Jewish children during WW2 in occupied France ;some were saved ,hidden in boarding- schools or convents by just men and women at their own risk...

Maurice spent the occupation in a hospital ,under a generous doctor's and his devoted nurse's watchful eye ;both were heroes in the shadow.

The shameful round up of Jews in the Paris Velodrome d'hiver by the French gendarmes (July 1942) is showed in admirably succint style:as he is driven back home on an ambulance ,Maurice catches a glimpse of his mom and sister forced into the bus :"it's only a police control ",he's told ,before a providential fall in the stairs makes him wind up in another hospital.

But there the doctor (Philippe Torreton),diagnoses TB and he's confined in a room with other children.

That's the strength of the movie : all the events are seen through children's eyes,some are Jews,some are not ,all stand together ,all share agonizing treatments (I read depictions of them and the movie is accurate) and small joys : one play the accordion and they sing together .A schoolteacher ,Charles (Antoine Gouy ) comes on Thursday to give them some education : at the time ,and till 1972, it was the children's day off ,we will learn that this teacher works on a voluntary basis; in a normal school , Charles would not have been allowed to talk about De Gaulle and the allies, he would have been given away to the Gestapo .

Charles ' s attempt at a murder of a German officer is witnessed by several children who try to piece together ...is Charles a coward?

But there are things the children cannot know : the teacher is probably a resistant fighter,but his fate will remain mysterious ; the dilemmas of the doctor, who struggles to be faithful to his medical code of ethics : shall we hand the Jewish children over to the nazis ? (if we shan't ,all our patients will be sacrificed ) who shall we treat when there's only enough penicilin for two patients?.

The physical examination ( circumcision) begins as a terrifying scene but almost ends up as a prank ,thanks to the doctor's tricky plasters;but smiles freeze when the ambulance take away the sacrificed terminally-ill patients .

One can tone it down a little for the Abel/Cain hackneyed topic: the saintly doctor and his brother ,who belongs to the Milice ;the children using (a repeated scene) the cleaning man as a punching-bag is neither funny nor charitable of them .

But these "good luck children" are endearing , and the movie is to be recommended ,if only for their spontaneity.