Os Meninos Que Enganavam Nazistas

It is one of the best movies I have ever seen about WWII. I trully adored these two brothers and the affection between them. It is about family, caring, trusting, loving. What makes it special among other WWII movies is the fact that it does not focus on the battles or the holocaust itself two much, so it is friendly enough for a younger audience. The picture is amazing and the soundrack is totally touching. And when it comes about acting, oohh when it comes about acting. . .you'll see! I really don't want to overdo it with my review, so I will let you enjoy it. An explosion of emotions shall begin...

Un Sac de Billes was shown in the United States with the translated title A Bag pf Marbles. The film was directed by Christian Duguay. The movie is set in Occupied France. A Jewish family knows that if they stay in Paris, they'll be captured and sent to a concentration camp. Their strategy was to escape to Vichy France. Vichy France was still under German control, but most of the occupying soldiers were Italian. When Italy signed an armistice with the allies, German soldiers moved in. Vichy France was no longer the relatively safe haven that it had been.

The movie follows two brothers as they painfully make their way to Vichy France, and then try to survive the Nazi occupation. The movie is based on the autobiography of the younger brother--Roman. So, we know that he survived to write about their ordeal. What happened to the rest of the family is something we learn as the movie progresses.

The two young actors (Dorian Le Clech as Joseph and Patrick Bruel as Roman) are superb. Equally excellent were the actors in supporting roles.

A Bag of Marbles is an outstanding movie. We saw it on the large screen at the JCC Hart Theatre as part of the wonderful Rochester Jewish Film Festival. The film has a solid IMDb rating of 7.3, but I think it's even better than that. It will work on the small screen. Seek it out and watch it!

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

"Papa, tu te souviens? Vous m'avez dit une fois que lorsqu'un homme meurt, une étoile s'allume dans le ciel. Et l'espoir doit être maintenu. C'est vrai, tu es là, papa. Et vous le serez toujours."

Such a beautiful movie. The touching story brought me to tears. The young actors who play Maurice and Joseph are phenomenal and just do an amazing job portraying these amazing strong characters. Didn't know this was a true story but it just turned everything more beautiful. One of my favourite movies without a doubt. Hurts to think the amount of people who went through this, most of them not surviving these horrifying events. A beautiful homage nevertheless.

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.