Jeux d'Enfants (2003)
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Duration: 93 minuten
Alternative titles: Love Me If You Dare / Kinderspel
Country:
France / Belgium
Directed by: Yann Samuell
Stars: Guillaume Canet, Marion Cotillard and Thibault Verhaeghe
IMDb score:
7,5 (74.775)
Releasedate: 17 September 2003
Jeux d'Enfants plot
"When is love a game, and when is it not?"
Julien and Sophie start the game of their lives with a simple bet. A bet to forget that Mom is seriously ill and the whole class is calling you filthy Pool. The rules are simple: the person who holds the candy tin can give the other the most diverse assignments. Do you dare to give cheeky answers in class, or pee on the school principal's carpet? The challenges become more and more brutal as they get older. What started innocently between two children leads to the biggest challenge: admitting to each other that they can't live without each other.
Actors and actresses
Julien Janvier
Sophie Kowalsky
8-year-old Julien
8-year-old-Sophie
Julien's Mother
Igor
Clothilde
Dorzac
Sergei Nimov Nimovitch
Aurélie
Reviews & comments
Black Math
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- 5430 messages
- 1753 votes
Very entertaining. Stylistically there are similarities with Jeunet, albeit of a somewhat lower level, but otherwise the tone is completely different: much less innocent. And that's where the fun lies.
It's nice to see how the two main characters get absorbed in their game as children, where they don't fear any authority. And once they get older, things get a lot more vicious when they put each other's feelings to the test, too. Things get tough, and the great thing is that the film leaves little room for pity, not even for the innocent bystanders, who fortunately only zoom in very little. Instead, curiosity is piqued (at least for me) as to what the next maniacal counter-move would be.
Vicious, but in the meantime you can feel how crazy the main characters are about each other throughout the film, so that the romantic still dominates. The acting is therefore more than okay, because the chemistry radiates from it.
The music isn't bad, but it doesn't really stand out either. Could have just provided some extras, but well, on the other hand, it doesn't get in the way of the atmosphere either. The short playing time makes it all nice to look away, without the feeling that there is needless stretching.
In summary: vicious and entertaining. 4*.
Translated from Dutch · View original
IH88
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- 9903 messages
- 3205 votes
Jeux d'Enfants
An unconventional romantic story. You can call that Jeux d'Enfants. The film has humorous and dramatic elements in it, but is above all a cruel and ruthless ode to love. The beginning with the young Julien and Sophie is cute and touching, but the dark undertone is already there.
The betting is still adolescent child's play but once Canet and Cotillard start playing Julien and Sophie, their bets get a little more venomous and they go further and further. The marriage and the marriage proposal are good examples of this and I was really looking forward to it with bent toes. Julien and Sophie can't live without each other (although sometimes they don't see each other for years) and their behavior becomes increasingly self-destructive. Cotillard is one of my favorite actresses and here too she is beautiful and stoneware. Canet is a bit more colorless but the chemistry between him and Cotillard is amazing. The movie looks great and some scenes are cinematic. The ending is not written in cement and that suits this film. Nicely ambiguous.
Translated from Dutch · View original
SmackItUp
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- 3518 messages
- 2674 votes
Wonderful movie.
Especially the atmosphere is very good. Romantic yet rude. Samuell knows how to process it into a nice combination. Visually often very beautiful. Strong lead roles, romantic and the idea with the game is continuously kept interesting. It's great that Samuell keeps this up throughout the film.
4*
Translated from Dutch · View original
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