Les enfants du marais

This little french gem of a film is in fact one of the best films I have ever seen. It is a story about true friendship and devotion and it shows what we who live in the so-called modern world have lost. Everything about the film is just perfect. It is funny, moving, filmed in a beautiful setting and yes,even Cantona makes a strong performance. Even though I am not an anti Hollywood "besserwisser" it is good to see films like this which main focus is to tell a really good story and to make you feel good. Yes, I now that this is a cliché but it is just what this film does to your brain. See it and understand what should be the most important things in your life.

Highly recommended.

A masterpiece from Jean Becker, 'Les Enfants du Marais' is a stunning celebration of the spirit of the common man. The film features an admirable performance by Michel Serrault as 'Pépé', set in the picturesque French countryside. Dreujou's breath-taking photography makes the film a must for any French-loving film-goer.

A real feel good movie.

I found this two-hour long story of friendship absorbing and deeply satisfying. It's a feast for the eyes, and hearing the French language tumbling over you adds to the atmosphere - you can almost smell it too. The French countryside is lovely to look at and the simplicity of the main protagonists' lives is beguiling (admittedly the weather always seemed close to perfect!). It's a nostalgic, evocative look at the past with realistic, thoroughly likeable characters.

This is a movie I would recomend for a boring sunday afternoon when you're feeling a bit blue and you're trying to evade thoughts of the outside world.

The scenery is beautiful and the word that comes to mind when I think of the message of the movie is - compassion. It's a low key story about fríendship and it really brightened my boring sunday afternoon.

This film delivers. It's a slice of life set in the beautiful French countryside.

It starts out very simple but keeps building, relationships evolving and unfolding into a glorious crescendo. The friendship between Garriss and Riton is a synergy that is not often captured in film. Garriss finds family, one that is missing from his life. Riton is guided, taught about life and social skills, the very things where he lacks knowledge.

While the relationships between the adults in this film are a wonderment, the relationships between the children are heartwarming. This film delivers on both ends of the life cycle spectrum.

A reviewer commented, "I sat through it waiting for something to happen" and was disappointed. I contend that if one watches this film waiting for a shootout, nudity/sex scene, a car chase, an explosion, or any of the other typical Hollywood cliché subplots, he or she will be disappointed. This film stands on it's own, having a morality just as high as the values it depict.

You don't sit through this film "waiting for something to happen". Something happens to you! You're immersed in a world of nostalgia, one that will warm your soul and broaden your notions of what life is really about, and how life really should be.