Themes: First Love, Star-Crossed Lovers, Sibling Relationships
Main Cast: Nicole Stephane, Edouard Dermit, Renée Cosima, Jacques Bernard, Roger Gaillard, Melvyn Martin
Release Year: 1950
Country: FR
Run Time: 105 minutes
Plot
Adapted by Jean Cocteau from his own novel and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, Les Enfants Terribles is set in motion when a sensitive youth, Paul (Edouard Dermit), is injured by a snowball flung by school bully Dargelos (Renée Cosima, an actress in male drag). The bully later reappears in the form of a young girl, Agathe (played again by Cosima), with whom Paul becomes infatuated. This arouses the displeasure of Paul's sister, Elisabeth (Nicole Stephane), who also harbors a carnal desire for her brother. Elisabeth arranges to destroy Paul's romance, forcing Agathe to marry another. The sister gets her comeuppance in a perversely indirect fashion at the hands of the male bully Dargelos. This film was completed in 1952, but not released in the U.S. until 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Les Enfants Terribles shouldn't work. Director Jean-Pierre Melville's world view -- concentrating on men who eat nails for breakfast and live in a violent world, albeit one that is observed from a cool distance -- should be at odds with Jean Cocteau's mythical, fairy tale-like perverse playfulness. While there are moments when the tension between these two camps does rear its head, most of the time the end result is a surprising amalgam which draws strength from both sources. Melville and Cocteau produce a truly claustrophobic atmosphere, making the audience feel as much a prisoner as the characters, and the surrealism of several sequences is both beautiful and unnerving. Melville has also created a stunning design for the film, especially in its mixture of time periods and architectural styles, and he is enormously aided by Henri Decaë's fascinating cinematography and Monique Bonnot's exceptional editing (both of which are crucial to the film's climactic moments). While Edouard Dermit is somewhat stiff, he has the appropriate look and feel for the role; he does get overshadowed, however, by the powerful yet stealthy performance of Nicole Stephane, who makes the demonic seem bewitching. Disturbing, compelling, and fascinating, Enfants is a richly rewarding experience for audiences wanting something a little beyond the norm. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Maria Cyliakus - The Mother; Adeline Aucoc - Mariette; Emile Mathis - Vice-Principal; Maurice Revel - Doctor; Jean-Marie Robain - Headmaster; Jean Cocteau - Narrator
