The Childhood of a Leader

2015
1h 55m

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

7.1K

YOUR RATING

This fable about the rise of fascism in the 20th Century tells the story of a young American boy living in France in 1918 whose father is working for the US government on the creation of the Treaty of Versailles. What he witnesses helps to mould his beliefs - and we witness the birth of a terrifying ego.

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A chronicle of the childhood of a post-World War I leader.A chronicle of the childhood of a post-World War I leader.A chronicle of the childhood of a post-World War I leader.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

7.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 6 wins & 12 nominations total

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
This film marks the second collaboration between screenwriters Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, having collaborated in the screenplay for The Sleepwalker. The difference between this two collaborations is that Fastvold directed The Sleepwalker and Corbet directed this one.

Goofs
Prescott's mother writes the French address on an envelope with a modern five-digit postcode. But France has had postcodes only since 1964, and the current five-digit ones only since 1972.

Quotes
Charles: The tragedy is not only that Pontius Pilate betrayed his self but that hundreds in the crowd before him did betray their selves. And that's what I wrote was the tragedy of war. Not that one man has the courage to be evil but that so many have not the courage to be good.

Soundtracks
Oui, Oui, Marie
(uncredited)
Written by Fred Fisher, Al Bryan, Joseph McCarthy
Performed by Arthur Fields

A flawed but powerful and very promising debut

A flawed but very promising directorial debut from Brady Corbet. The plot meanders a little, promising more than it ultimately manages to deliver. There are, though, plenty of great moments as the film unfolds and the increasingly oppressive atmosphere of isolation, alienation and menace intensifies. Scott Walker's soundtrack is gloriously weird and over the top, and is used to particularly powerful effect in the set piece sequences that open and close the film. The acting is uniformly excellent. Tom Sweet delivers a fine performance as The Boy, whose increasingly violent tantrums are a sign of grim things to come. This is an intelligent and subtle film. A very good debut, which falls just short of being great.