La classe de neige

Not another coming of age film! It is but with the sinister twist of Claude Miller in control of poor boy Nicholas and his hang-ups. This is a fascinating entry into the mind of a young boy who is going through the motions of adjusting to life while on a school camp. There are certain elements surrounding him that make it that little bit complicated for our hero. And if you can relate to it, (like I did and now I'm a bit worried about it), then you will truly understand the boy's plight.

Most definitely one of the best movies I've ever seen, a bit on the strange side sometimes, but a very moving film. camera work excellent, the acting is amazing, and very well directed. not a well known movie, but a very good one.

A very humane and insightful piece of work, this film is really an examination of how a boy escapes the bizarre world that his father has created for him. The acting is excellent, the plotting is surprising and the whole film has a feel that is as crisp as the freshly fallen Alpine snows. Some parts of this film might seem to meander but don't let that put you off this movie - the last few minutes justify waiting through some of the character and plot development in the middle.

If anyone likes to discuss this film feel free to mail me, in English or in French.

Using dreams as a means of expressing a character's hidden fears and desires is an old trick, and Claude Miller overdoes it; there are probably more dream sequences than actual events in this movie. Some of them are startling (one involving a severed talking head, another a machine-gun massacre), but the story is boring (you don't have to be a detective to figure out the truth), and the kid is boring, too, with a fixed stare that never changes throughout the film (though it's probably not his fault, but Miller's). "La Classe De Neige" belongs in a subgenre that could be called "the world from a child's point of view", but doesn't make its way into the top of the list. (**)

Much of the advance publicity for this quiet little slice of a child's life seem as if it's going to be sadism in the school and kids doing cloak and dagger work; neither is really true of this film, although there is a major discovery to be made as the main character (subtly etched by a preteen with an appealing sensitivity) negotiates his way among the strangers he is suddenly stuck with when his parents pop him down in a children's winter camp.

The lad has visions, but not without reason, and once seen, all the disparate pieces fit very nicely indeed; there is a fascinating music score that ranges from Rock to Rossini, and if I haven't said a good deal about what happens, it's because what happens to the boy is a mystery: the wish bracelet he wears tells the story. This is not a fast-paced thriller, but a contemplative voyage into a child's mind, crossed with elements of a classic mystery.