Les Enfants Terribles (1950)
"Les enfants terribles" (original title)

Elisabeth is very protective of her teenage brother Paul, who is injured in a snowball fight at school and has to rest in bed most of the time. The siblings are inseparable, living in the ... See full summary »

Director:

Jean-Pierre Melville

Writers:

Jean Cocteau (novel), Jean Cocteau (adaptation),

Stars:

Nicole Stéphane, Edouard Dermithe, Renée Cosima

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Nicole Stéphane	...	Elisabeth
Edouard Dermithe	...	Paul
Renée Cosima	...	Dargelos / Agathe
Jacques Bernard	...	Gerard
Melvyn Martin	...	Michael
Maria Cyliakus	...	The Mother
Jean-Marie Robain	...	Headmaster
Maurice Revel	...	Doctor
Rachel Devirys
Adeline Aucoc	...	Mariette
Emile Mathys	...	Vice Principal
Roger Gaillard	...	Gerard's Uncle
Jean Cocteau	...	Narrator (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Annabel Buffet
Karin Lannby	...	The Mother

Storyline

Elisabeth is very protective of her teenage brother Paul, who is injured in a snowball fight at school and has to rest in bed most of the time. The siblings are inseparable, living in the same room, fighting, playing secret games, and rarely leaving the house; though Paul's friend Gerard often stays with them. One day Elisabeth brings home Agathe to live with them also. She bears a strong resemblance to Dargelos, a schoolboy whom Paul had a crush on, and who injured him. Paul and Agathe become attracted to each other, causing Elizabeth to be very jealous.

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Plot Keywords:

brother sister relationship | dead teen couple | gay interest | paris france | poison | 

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Taglines:

a love story by Jean Cocteau

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

28 July 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les Enfants Terribles

Filming Locations:

Ermenonville, Oise, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Melville Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The line spoken by Cocteau when Elisabeth is looking at her hands, "All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand...", is from Macbeth Act 5 scene 1, by William Shakespeare.

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Goofs

The amount of blood on Paul's face changes between when he is in the shop and when he is in the taxi.

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Connections

Referenced in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)

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Soundtracks

"Concerto in A minor for 4 pianos (BWV 1065)"
by Johann Sebastian Bach
from Concerto in B minor for four violins, cello, and strings (Op. 3, No. 10; RV 580), by Antonio Vivaldi

User Reviews

Like Rimbaud's poetry

I saw this twice in a single day. And couldn't stop watching this after. Each time I start watching a Hollywood movie I can't help but surrender back to this surrealist nutjob where nothing is really definable.

Much of the literature I've read on this focus on the unlikely collaboration between Jean Cocteau and Jean-Pierre Melville, with most putting it in context of Cocteau's other films. But I've always thought that Cocteau's Orphée, made during the same period, feels static and leaden amidst the classical style of its 50's direction. Les Enfants Terribles, while retaining a very classical premise, is completely revolutionary, resembling the unruly romanticism of Rimbaud's poetry. Nothing in the film stays the same - everything is constantly shifting; dyamics are constantly changing; even the sets change in subtle ways. Everything is made purposefully ambiguous and ambivalent such that paradoxes and contradictions abound in a single emotion. But ultimately, as all great Melvillian films are, the film is about the futility of humanity in the face of life and death.

I could go on and on about this movie; Melville is truly one of the great poets of cinema.