WW2 is coming to an end ;many children ,Jews',Spanish' and resistant fighters' sons and daughters have lost their family;two schoolteachers ,a man and his wife take them in and,on a old farm,they teach them not only French ,maths and the other school subjects ,but also to grow up,to become adults ,and to learn to build the new world of justice it's never too late to build.
The teacher's first name is none other than Celestin,probably a tribute to the great educationalist Freinet.However,one may find the dictation irrelevant for Young children;In direct contrast with that ,there's a short scene which shows a traditional school where the dictation is taken from Alphonse Daudet's "Les Trois Messes Basses" and where children get the dunce's cap.A little overdone.
But this community is driven away from their refuge.Afraid of the orphanage ("which is a prison ,and we have done nothing wrong"),the youngsters take to the bush but how can they survive ? A good idea is to have a dead Young man (suicide or accident?) speak and tell us what will become of his unfortunate mates ,instead of the usual lines on the screen.
Although fictionalized,this MTV work is based on true events which reportedly took place in Poland .Even is some pedagogic methods seem disputable,it's Worth a look.
Like this? Try this......
"L'Ecole Buissonnière" Jean-Paul Le Chanois,1949.
