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...

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.

A Bag of Marbles is yet another novel and movie about the fate of a Jewish family during the Second World War. Don't get me wrong, it's an important topic, a dark part of history that shall never be forgotten and a thematic that is sadly still relevant nowadays. However, so many novels and movies have already explored the exact same approach presented in this film: Au revoir les enfants, Life is Beautiful, The Book Thief, The Diary of Anne Frank and Schindler's List are only some movies that immediately come to my mind. Instead of getting another similar scenario, it would have been interesting to follow the torn family of collaborators in this film for example. Another fresh change could have been to finally offer the perspective of young German soldiers manipulated by propaganda and disillusioned by war. Since this is a French movie, it's also a little bit too convenient to simply blame the foreign enemy and would have been much more interesting to investigate the crimes of Marshal Pétain in depth. Why not make a movie about revolting French antisemitism in the Dreyfus Affair? Or a movie about France's own racist attitude in their colonies? Instead of trying out anything new, A Bag of Marbles plays it safe and the fact that the novel and movie are based upon true events doesn't help much.

On the positive side, the acting performances by the teenagers incarnating the two brothers are stellar. The changes of locations keep the movie entertaining and give it an epic touch. The addition of numerous quirky side characters who are trying to find ways to hide their fears adds diversity to the film. There are a few memorable scenes such as the father beating up his own son to teach him how to deny his identity, the younger brother stepping up to save a family of collaborators in an act of civic courage and the same character desperately running after his desperate sweetheart whose family just got attacked by an angry mob.

On the other side, the story doesn't offer anything new, is slightly dull and slow-paced in the middle section and only touches the surface of several interesting characters such as the Jewish doctor or the family of collaborators. Several chapters from the novel aren't included in the cinematic adaptation and a few details are also changed. Instead of showing the brothers endlessly wandering across mountains, the film should have spent more time developing the numerous interesting side characters and giving some additional information about the historic background.

In the end, A Bag of Marbles is ultimately a good film but suffers from being just another movie about the fate of a Jewish family during the Second World War. The movie itself has its reasons to be, has a quirky and epic approach going for it and convinces with two really good lead actors. However, European cinema has been saturated with movies of this kind over the past three decades and this film fails both to offer anything new and to compete with its numerous competitors. The most authentic, gripping and sinister movie of this kind is the outstanding The Pianist. But if you really want to get an idea of the horrors of the Second World War, you have to visit a former concentration camp which is an absolutely life-changing experience.

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!

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.