Au Revoir Les Enfants (et des autres choses)

I watched this movie for my French class.  Actually, we had to read the novelization of this movie for my French class.  We watched most of the movie, too, but the main point was to do reading.  Traditionally when I have to read a book for a class, I end up hating it.  Part of this is because times change, and old books no longer had the appeal they once did.  Part of this is because I hate being forced to do anything, especially on a schedule not of my own devising.  Part of this is because English teachers aren't traditionally good at picking books high school guys want to read.

They didn't tell us it was a novelization when we started reading it, or maybe that bit was just lost in translation for me.  Either way, I figured out what was up about a third of the way through the book and promptly torrented the original movie with subtitles.  I'm more of a movie than book person.

I was impressed.  Maybe it's just that a movie is so much easier for me than a book, but maybe the movie was just really good.  I liked it.

The plot is a cross between a stereotypical boarding school story and stereotypical "hide the Jews from the Nazis" story.  There's a boarding school and a kid at it.  Kid is secretly unhappy but also the coolest kid in his class.  New kid shows up, starts getting picked on by other kids.  Main character kid starts seeing subtle hints that new kid may be a "Jew" (quotes because he's not actually sure what that means), and eventually they become friends after a capture the flag game gone wrong ends with them both lost on a bonding experience in the woods.  Main character kid starts to get the implications of new kid being Jewish just in time for their friendship to blossom and the Nazis to show up and take new kid away.  Loss of innocence, etc, etc.

Let's get the pesky review part over with quick.

SAM'S VERDICT:  It was good if you like boarding school movies.  I don't mind them.

The big question this movie raised for me was "why can stereotypical plots be so good or so bad depending on how they're used?"  There wasn't a single twist in this movie I didn't see coming, and I predicted most of the key scenes within the first 15 minutes.  Yet in the end, I still liked it.  In fact, as I watch more and more movies, I get better and better at predicting everything before it happens.  And if I can tell what's going to happen before it occurs, then what's the point of seeing the movie?  Why not just read a blurb about it and construct it in my head, then get back to playing video games?

It's always fun to watch stories unfold, even if you know where they're going.  It's the same reason (some) people enjoy watching the same movies over and over.  The familiarity of a story can be comforting, and thinking about an old plot in a new way can also be worth your while.  Predictable plots can also let us focus on some other part of the film - action movies all have similar plots so that we can keep our minds on the explosions, and Disney movies all have similar plots so that we can keep our minds on making sure our 3 year old doesn't choke on something.  Also the music.

Beyond that, it's fun to watch a predictable movie you haven't seen before because there's always the chance that they'll defy your expectations, that this time you really will be surprised.  We have to put up with the predictability of most movies so that the few that cut through all that have something to stand against.  If everything was unpredictable, then unpredictability would become the new predictability.  There has to be a base line for the top 5 contenders.

I think familiarity is the biggest reason.  People don't like change.