"More than 40 years have passed, but I will remember every second of that January morning until the day I die."- Louis Malle
An elegantly crafted story of friendship, compassion and childhood, Au Revoir Les Enfants is heartbreaking, poignant and tragic cinema that is actually based on events that took place during the childhood of the director of this film and is an endearing portrait of school life, rivalry and the beauty of friendship.
Set in France during the final years of World War II, the events of Au Revoir Les Enfants take place at a Catholic boarding school and are told through the eyes of Julien Quentin; one of the school's students. The plot covers his relationship with an enigmatic newcomer student with whom he is at odds at first, but the two learn to get along and share a big secret.
The anti-Semitism that emerges, though inevitable in Nazi territory, comes through subtly and really hurts. The film is not complete without this horror, but the horror is complete with the truly vivid recreation of this type of private school for boys: a period film at its best.
Director Louis Malle has not only a message, but also a sensibility for the medium: for making the flow and background of the plots of his films fluid. It's also a fairly complex mix of types, and somehow you can keep them all straight as he goes along, as clearly as you're supposed to as the events unfold. In the end, it confirms a familiar Nazi horror story, but one that can't be told too often.