Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
A village in the South of France, 1960. A band of country boys aged 7 to 14, led by fearless young Lebrac, wages an uncompromising battle against their sworn rivals, the kids from the neighboring village. A war of honor and allegiance that's been kept alive for generations, in which humiliation is the most fearsome defeat and no tactic is too extreme, including attacking the enemy stark naked!
This 2011 French adaptation of the classic Louis Pergaud novel is a competent but unremarkable retelling of a well-worn story. The plot captures the youthful rivalry and camaraderie with reasonable charm, though it adds little new to the source material or its previous adaptations. The child acting is naturalistic and earnest, fitting for a family adventure, though not exceptional. Cinematography is pleasant with rural French countryside scenery but lacks any distinctive visual ambition. Novelty suffers significantly — this is at least the third major adaptation of the same novel, and the 2011 version does not bring a fresh enough perspective or unique cinematic voice to distinguish itself meaningfully. The ending is fairly predictable and emotionally flat, resolving in a conventional manner without much resonance or surprise.