Who payed the critics

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

"Un sac de billes" is another film about a Jewish family shattered by the German invasion. The story is not original since the tragedies are very alike and there is lack of emotion with the cold direction by Christian Duguay. After more than seventy years and hundreds of movies about this sad period of the mankind history, a new film about this theme should have something different in excitement or emotion; otherwise will give the sensation of déjàvu for the viewer. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Os Meninos Que Enganavam Nazistas" ("The Boys That Lure the Nazi")

Un Sac de Billes was shown in the United States with the translated title A Bag pf Marbles. The film was directed by Christian Duguay. The movie is set in Occupied France. A Jewish family knows that if they stay in Paris, they'll be captured and sent to a concentration camp. Their strategy was to escape to Vichy France. Vichy France was still under German control, but most of the occupying soldiers were Italian. When Italy signed an armistice with the allies, German soldiers moved in. Vichy France was no longer the relatively safe haven that it had been.The movie follows two brothers as they painfully make their way to Vichy France, and then try to survive the Nazi occupation. The movie is based on the autobiography of the younger brother--Roman. So, we know that he survived to write about their ordeal. What happened to the rest of the family is something we learn as the movie progresses.The two young actors (Dorian Le Clech as Joseph and Patrick Bruel as Roman) are superb. Equally excellent were the actors in supporting roles.A Bag of Marbles is an outstanding movie. We saw it on the large screen at the JCC Hart Theatre as part of the wonderful Rochester Jewish Film Festival. The film has a solid IMDb rating of 7.3, but I think it's even better than that. It will work on the small screen. Seek it out and watch it!

"Un sac de billes" tells the story of two young Jewish boys in France during the German occupation, who have to split from their family in order to have a better chance of survival. During the long months until the liberation, both face death several times and can only escape with a lot of luck and help.It is of course hard to say anything against this film. It is based on the memories of a surviving family, shows a bitter reality and sheds light on a group of people that often is forgotten: The ones who survived in hiding. Unfortunatelly, the big narrative in terms of filmmaking is missing a bit. You do emphasize with the lead characters of course but it feels like a lot of stories are told at the same time and that somehow destroys the bigger picture. Thus what you get is a good movie, an important one as well, but not one that outstands in its way of telling the story.All in all this is a movie that can be recommended, but I fear it is not one that will be recognized by larger audiences. I think that the story would have more potential but nontheless this is a more than solid approach.

"Un sac de billes" or "A Bag of Marbles" is the newest work by Emmy-nominated Canadian filmmaker Christian Duguay. This film is based on a novel and it is also a remake of a film with the same title from the 1970s, over 40 years ago. I have no seen this old film and not read the novel, so I cannot elaborate on parallels and differences between these works and this new 110-minute film. I am also not familiar with Duguay, but I know that I sure liked what I saw here and this film is a fine example of how it is still really possible with the right talent and approach to make films about the dark years between 1933 and 1945. The film plays in France from start to finish, so you will hear mostly French language and should go for a good set of subtitles if you aren't fluent in this beautiful language.I think this was a really good ensemble performance where nobody was really great, but everybody was good and added their share to the overall outcome. If I had to pick one, I'd maybe go with Patrick Bruel, who was a really great surprise in here as I think I knew the name only referred to his singing career. The most known name is probably Christian Clavier thanks to his Astérix performances, but he really only plays a minor character here. The film is interesting from start to finish, but I would say there were three scenes that had me on the edge of my seat. The first would be the slapping scene that should prepare the boy(s), the second would be the trap that they could try to get out, but would have been killed and finally the ending that works perfect from the realistic and touching perspectives. Certainly one of the most emotional scenes from 2017. (Honorable mention to the scene when the boy near the end screams out his religion multiple times that he had to hide for so long. This one was certainly walking the edge between cringe and powerful, but as he basically saved a collaborator that moment the scene makes a great impact too, it's up to you to decide if for the right or wrong reasons, I myself am still undecided too.) This is also one of the film's greatest strengths, it may be dramatic from start to finish, but it's always authentic in my opinion. And it is really easy to feel for the characters, for example to wonder if the guy who helps them getting away for a low price early on is really good or evil. Or before they are caught if the driver is trying to trap them when the older boy cannot open the door on his side of the car.Overall, this is just a really well-done WWII film from start to finish that offers absolutely everything you could hope for if the context/time interests you as much as it interests me. For me it is one of the very best 2017 releases I have seen by now, top3 probably. I would not be surprised if France submits it to the Oscars and it could make a nice run there too. Top9 would be the minimum, a nomination seems likely and I would not be too surprised to see it as a contender for the win even. It's better than "A nagy füzet" (The Notebook) and as good as "Wolfskinder" (Wolfschildren), 2 films that deal with a similar subject and that you may want to give a go too if you watched and liked this one we have here. I really would be surprised if you didn't. Big thumbs-up from me. Highly recommended.