Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Au Revoir les Enfants Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 11, 2017

Winner of Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, Louis Malle's "Au revoir les enfants" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Artificial Eye. There are no special features on the disc. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"Au revoir les enfants" appears in this ten-disc Blu-ray box set that was produced by Curzon/Artificial Eye.

The majority of director Louis Malle’s film Au revoir les enfants takes place in a small Catholic boarding school not too far away from the village of Fontainebleau. This is a quiet place where things have not changed much since the beginning of WW2. German soldiers are often seen in the area, but they are always friendly and polite.

Three Jewish boys are secretly enrolled into the school. No one but the headmaster, Father Jean (Philippe Morier-Genoud, Cyrano de Bergerac), and the teachers know their true identities. The boys quickly settle down and classes begin. For awhile it looks like it will be just another year of fun.

12-year-old Julien Quentin (Gaspard Manesse), Malle’s surrogate, befriends one of the Jewish boys, Jean Bonnet (Raphael Fejto). They spend a lot of time talking and playing together. Both, however, quickly realize that they have plenty of secrets which they are unwilling to share.

Eventually, Julien discovers that Bonnet is a pseudonym -- and begins to understand his friend. As time goes by, he experiences some of his fears, and a lot begins to make sense. Then one day Gestapo officials arrive in the area and close the school. The headmaster, Jean and the other two Jewish boys are arrested.

Based on events from director Malle's childhood years, Au revoir les enfants tells a simple but devastating story. It is simple because it is painfully familiar, its ending beyond predictable. It is devastating because it is seen through the eyes of an innocent boy who is prematurely forced to enter the adult world and face an entirely new, enormously cruel reality. The shock and disbelief he experiences are overwhelming, the sense of helplessness absolutely frightening.

There are two key reasons why Au revoir les enfants works so well. First, the atmosphere in the film is outstanding. Director Malle’s camera visits every little corner of the school; there is a way of life in it that makes sense and feels familiar. Friendships are formed and prickly rivalries created. Even though Nazi soldiers are repeatedly seen wandering around, there is a feeling in the air that nothing could go wrong.

Second, the story is not overdramatized. The boys are not martyrs and the Nazi soldiers are not clowns. They don't like each other, but until the Gestapo officials appear they manage to coexist.

Naturally, the film has a remarkably personal tone. It aims to recreate a tragic, life-changing experience, but never attempts to idealize it. There is nothing to be learned from it; there are no populist messages, and absolutely no angry words. Forgiveness is also not sought because nothing could have been changed, and no one could have been saved.

The young actors are fantastic, especially Manesse, who is remarkably relaxed and confident. The best scenes in the film are the ones where he looks straight into the camera but remains silent. His big beautiful eyes reveal so much more than words could.

*: In 1988, Au Revoir, les Enfants earned Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Louis Malle). The film also won seven Cesar Awards, including Best Film and Best Director.

Au Revoir les Enfants Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Louis Malle's Au revoir les enfants arrives on Blu-ray courtesy French label Gaumont.

The release is sourced from the same restored master that French label Gaumont used for its domestic release of Au revoir les enfants in 2015. Just to be perfectly clear, this is not the same master that Criterion used for the North American release of the film in 2011. I find the new master to be clearly superior in terms of density and depth; edge definition is also better and on a bigger screen the difference is quite easy to see. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. I believe that some very careful grain management was performed, but it is nothing that you should be concerned about as it is well within what is considered proper and/or responsible. Colors are stable and there are plenty of excellent nuances. I would have preferred to have slightly more prominent ranges of blues and whites, but the current palette works rather well. Image stability is excellent. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Au Revoir les Enfants Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very good. The dialog is clean, clear, and always easy to follow. I think that the overall dynamic balance is also very good, but as I typically out in our reviews of older films the dynamic intensity that the original sound design has is pretty modest. Nothing unusual, really; it is just how the film was shot. There are no audio dropouts, distracting background hiss, or digital distortions to report. The English translation is very good.

Au Revoir les Enfants Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, there are no bonus features on this release.

Au Revoir les Enfants Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I think that Gaumont's recent restored master of Au revoir les enfants is quite good and overall clearly more convincing than the one that Criterion used for the first Blu-ray release of the film in North America in 2011. I have a few minor reservations about the color palette, but I am fine with it and think that the film looks healthier here than it ever has before. However, Curzon/Artificial Eye should have licensed Pierre-Henri Gibert's documentary that appeared on the French release. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.