A Bag Of Marbles

This film had English sub-titles, not dubbing as described.However I prefer sub-titles so that was a bonus for me. The film itself was as true to the book as you can be in the limited time . It grabbed your attention from the beginning to the end . Any parent watching it couldn't fail to be moved by this story and , even though I knew the story , I was gripped by the jeopardy the boys were facing. Highly recommended.

I liked this film as it was based on a true story. I have seen many films about this difficult topic. However to see the impossible choices and sacrifices the boys parents had to make was very poignant. Well made with no frills.

This is a very moving film, well made and well acted.

good

Beautiful scenery and largely faithful to the book. Excellent accompaniment to the novel for A Level French students in the uK.

Great film based on true facts

This is a review of the 2017 DVD from Umbrella Entertainment. It is an Australian release, and states it is Region 4 on the box, but here on Amazon, it is described as Region 0 (ie All Region). It played beautifully on our Region 2 equipment, with a super clear, natural picture. It is in Dolby 5.1 French with excellent sharp English subtitles.Some of the most arresting and impressive of all the films about WW2, have featured children, their experiences and their perspective. The most famous is probably the moving and claustrophobic ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’(1959), set in Amsterdam, but the affecting ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’(2008); Boorman’s wonderful ‘Hope and Glory’(1987); Studio Ghibli’s harrowing ‘Grave of the Fireflies’(1988) also spring to mind. The French have produced some particularly fine examples: Louis Malle’s unsentimental ‘Au Revoir Les Enfants’(1987) and René Clément’s exquisite and poignant ‘Jeux Interdits’(1953). But this film is a really worthy addition to this list, and it has the additional merit that it is based on an autobiography by the boy featured in the film.Joseph Joffo was born in Paris in 1931, to a French Jewish couple. At least one of his parents hailed originally from the Russian ‘Pale of Settlement’, the part of Western Russia where Jewish settlement was allowed, but where they were constantly persecuted. Joseph was the youngest of 4 brothers. Their father ran a successful Barber’s shop in the ‘Jewish Quarter’, and his older brothers also worked there.When Joseph was 10, the Nazis came. The film follows Joseph and his 12 year old brother Maurice, and (through Joseph’s eyes) other family members, from that time until the Liberation. With Joseph, we trek the highways and byways of France, in a beautifully-filmed exploration for somewhere safe to hide from the hatred and genocide which unfolds around the family, threatening to engulf them. It is a continuously terrifying journey, often exhausting, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes joyful, sometimes devastating, sometimes tearful. With Joseph, we meet the cruel, the brave, the kind and the blindly opinionated. With him, we adore his wonderful parents, who see clearly what is coming and what must be done. And as we travel with him, we admire Joseph and Maurice, and also the excellent performances by the two young boys who portray them in the film.The film (the second version to be made) is based on Joseph’s own memoir ‘Un Sac de Billes’, published in 1973. Many publishing houses had turned Joseph down, before ‘Éditions Jean-Claude Lattès’ not only agreed to publish, but helped and encouraged him. What they have given us is a wonderfully honest and moving account, that is a celebration of human resourcefulness, resilience and love. A superb 5 Stars.