Child in the Crowd (A)
- Director: Gérard Blain
- Writer: Gérard Blain; Michel Pérez
CGiii Comment
Mechanical children, loveless adults...
The robotic line delivery strips the emotion away...what is left behind is a raw comment on humanity...the ability to survive and the desire to please...
There are no graphic scenes of child abuse...Paul knows what he's doing - and enjoys it.
The controversy is masked simply by downplaying it...making it mundane, normal...and the effect is chilling.
Blain has shown a deep intelligence...it should leave an impression...but, you have to think about it in order to get the full effect.
So, think on.
No trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Deserted by his father, and dislocated by the Second World War, Paul is a boy who wants affection and attention and cannot find it at home. For a while, he becomes the pet of some German soldiers, running errands for them. Later, he helps the Resistance, and when the Americans come to stay, he is really in his element with them.
Cast & Characters
Jean François Cimino as Paul, enfant;
César Chauveau as Paul, adolescent;
Annie Kovaks as La mere de Paul;
Cécile Cousseau as Micheline, enfant;
Claude Treille as Micheline, adolescente;
Jean Bertal as Le pere de Paul;
Gabrielle Sassoum as La grand-mere;
Raymonde Badé-Mauffroy as La maîtresse;
Jacques Benoît-Lévy as Directeur ecole;
Claude Cernay as Gilles;
Jurgens Doeres as Laurent;
Bernard Soufflet as Jacques;
Gérard Blain as Un passant