A Bag of Marbles is a masterpiece. To start with, at its core is an unusual family of two younger brothers and two older adult brothers, all revolving around Dad's barber shop. The decisions taken along the way, both for the two younger boys, and those the boys have to make themselves, generate pretty much all of the tension. It's truly charming. Add to this the wonderful locations and really excellent props and cars and so forth, as well as the obvious talent behind the filming and direction itself, and you have here a truly excellent historical cinematic experience. This movie is for the French experience of WWII what Come And See (1985) was for the Russian. It's all very real, with some excellent characterisations, and brilliantly unpredictable twists, turns and near disasters. Great characterisation applies equally to the foes as to the good guys. There are so many moments of tension, amplified, of course, by the youth and innocence of the two boys, and, as well, the relationship between the two boys is touching as well. You never get the sensation that anything is forced or false in this movie, or historically inaccurate. Surely this must represent, in microcosm, the true experience of German occupied France. As such, A Bag of Marbles should be on everybody's list of must see films.
Review of A Bag of Marbles
A Bag of Marbles
(2017)
Charming and heartfelt story, with real skill behind the camera
9 September 2019