Le voyage de Fanny

The French film Le voyage de Fanny was shown in the U.S. with the translated title Fanny's Journey (2016). It was written and directed by Lola Doillon, and is based on a true story.

Fanny's journey is a Holocaust film, and depicts a daring escape attempt as eight children, led by 13-year-old Fanny, try to leave France and reach Switzerland. (A fact not stated in the IMDb material, but told to us during the introduction, is that actually Fanny led 23 children as they tried to escape. Director Doillon wisely decided to lower the number so that we could get to know some of the children as individuals.)

A movie like this will rise or fall based on the lead character. Léonie Souchaud, who portrays Fanny, is a superb actor. I'm not sure of her actual age, but she's clearly a young adolescent. How she obtained the acting skills required for the role is a question to which she or director Doillon know the answer. Clearly, she possesses those skills.

We saw the movie at the excellent Little Theatre as part of the outstanding Rochester International Jewish Film Festival. The RIJFF gets better every year. If you live in Upstate New York, plan to attend the festival. (It's a little late for 2017, because the RIJFF ends on July 17th. However, some films will be re-shown during the year, and there's 2018 to look forward to.)

This movie has a barely acceptable IMDb rating of 6.9. It should have a higher rating than that. It will work better on the large screen than on the small screen, but it's worth seeking out and watching wherever you can find it.

P.S. The RIJFF labeled the film as "Family Friendly. Suitable for ages 10 and up." It's not. In my opinion, no one under age 13 should see it, and even that's a stretch.

I just watched this movie at the East Bay Jewish Film Festival in Pleasant Hill. It is a WWII movie that takes place in France in 1943 in what at that time was a part of France that was controlled by Italy, and when Mussolini, gets overthrown, sets in motion these events.

This movie kept me on the edge of my seat, as you watch a reluctant Fanny, aged about 13 finding herself in charge of a bunch of little Jewish kids being forced to flee from France to Switzerland as the Nazis take over in this area of France from Italy. Like all little kids, they all want their mommies and daddies and don't quite understand what is happening to them. This movie is based on a true story and was quite exciting.

Wow! 10 out of 10! This movie is so brilliant and beautiful. All of the children are amazing. The way it is filmed, the direction, acting, writing, cinematography, sound, locations, light, editing, everything is just phenomenal. I could cry just thinking about it. So masterfully and thoughtfully done - really a masterpiece.

We were so struck by the nuanced acting of even the youngest children.

When a story like this is shown from the perspective of children, it perhaps always heightens the horror and the repeated feeling: we can never let this happen again, we can never let this happen again. There is a realness and authenticity, highlighting the beauty of people while wrapped in the terrible warning of this horrifically dark time that this film drives this home magnificently.

There are characters who excellently depict how seemingly normal people can completely lose their moral compass and go along with something that is horrifically wrong - and grand, subtle details in those who refuse to go along. The acting in all of the roles, small, medium, and large is exceptional. Fantastically cast.

Intensely interesting portraits and composites of real people.

If you shy from films not in your language, the dialog/subtitles in this are very easy to follow.

I recommend it to all. A parent might want to see it first, but I think that this would be very important for young people to see. The subject matter is important. There is an intensity about it and the peril of involving children, but there is technically little violence shown, less violence than many PG movies I have seen.

Aspects of this movie are captivating - they truly create something very powerful. I think that I like the most that it illuminates our personal responsibility to each other.

During the movie, as a U.S. citizen, I found myself thinking often of our involvement in the Middle East (and other areas) in the last thirty plus years, the children and adults affected by UN/U.S. Iraq sanctions in the 1990s; our invasions; the displacement; what they face in that region now with terrorism and government instability; the anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish sentiments and complacency to suffering and to religious and other bigotry that we see rising in our country and around the world, and our responsibility and role in all of it.

I hope that this movie is much more broadly seen and distributed.

I marveled watching it a second time while showing it to another person and would watch it again. Thank you to all people involved in this film, love to you all and everyone, wish you all the best always. <3

Heartfelt, heartwarming story of a group of Jewish children escaping the Nazi scourge in WW2. The performance at the child actors is faultless. The story keeps the viewer on the edge of one's seat, heart in mouth as the brave little souls overcome overwhelming odds, chased at every point by Wehrmacht soldiers and heartless French collaborator police determined to send these innocents to the hell of the Nazi extermination machine. Inspirational.

Exceptionally well acted and directed, all of the different routes they had to take in order to get to their destination was nerve-racking. A few loose ends I would've liked to have seen tied up. It wasn't believable that they found their way to the border without a map- even if they have a few lines about it when locked in the room with all of the maps. The stuffed animal left behind it made no sense, and would've meant death for the farm owner if it was found- we never find out the consequences ... the young girl exceptional, and everyone was well directed. Really a fantastic, well done film that kept my attention from beginning to end.