Naked Childhood (1968) L'enfance nue (original title)

Director:

Maurice Pialat

Writers:

Arlette Langmann (writer)
Maurice Pialat (writer)

Release Date:

22 January 1969 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A 10-year-old boy feels unwanted when his mother places him in a home for wayward children. He goes...

Plot Keywords:

Boy | Childhood | 10 Year Old | Children | Foster Home

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Michel Terrazon	...	François
Linda Gutemberg	...	Simone
Raoul Billerey	...	Roby
Pierrette Deplanque	...	Josette
Marie-Louise Thierry	...	Madame Minguet
René Thierry	...	Minguet
Henri Puff	...	Raoul
Marie Marc	...	Meme
Maurice Coussonneau	...	Letillon

Directed by
Maurice Pialat

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Arlette Langmann		writer
Maurice Pialat		writer

Produced by
Véra Belmont	....	producer
Guy Benier	....	producer
Claude Berri	....	producer
Mag Bodard	....	producer
François Truffaut	....	producer

Cinematography by
Claude Beausoleil

Sound Department
Henri Moline	....	sound engineer
Gilbert Pereira	....	sound assistant

Production Companies

• Parafrance Films (presents) (co-production)
• Parc Film (co-production)
• Renn Productions (co-production)
• Les Films du Carrosse (co-production)

Distributors

• Parafrance Films (1968) (France) (theatrical)
• Gaumont DVD (2003) (France) (DVD) (box-set)
• Altura Films International (1968) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Eureka Entertainment (2008) (UK) (theatrical) (series: Masters of Cinema)
• Criterion Collection, The (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Vídeo Cassete do Brasil (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"L'enfance nue" - France (original title)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Hénin-Beaumont, Pas-de-Calais, France

Company:

Parafrance Films

Trivia:

Marie-Louise Thierry and René Thierry were real life foster parents. Maurice Pialat became acquainted with the couple and cast them in lead roles after he began researching the plight of children in the foster care system.

Yes, a masterpiece

Well... Les 400 coups has been placed at no. 140 in IMDb's list of all-time great films, and as much as I admire Francois Truffaut's work, I am more impressed by L'Enfance nue, Pialat's first film, made when he was 43. Owing to the vagaries of the distribution system, I never saw it when it first appeared, and am now able to write about it thanks to TFO's enlightened film series.

Pialat was a realist, maybe to the point of turning off his audiences. If you have seen A nos amours or Loulou, you know you're in for a gruelling experience. Actors pushed to the breaking point, cutting that puts you right in the action, without any establishing background. The scene between Francois and Raoul, where the latter gets out of bed to look for Francois, then the knife slams into the door, just missing Raoul's head by inches, is unforgettable.

The actors are mostly amateurs; they do not try to attract your attention with gestures or speech, they just settle in and tell the story. The "assistance publique" workers are sympathetically rendered: there's no hint of Pialat trying to settle scores with government agencies (cf Une si jolie petite plage). The Minguet family, the second one we see--how many have there been in all?--is beautifully drawn. Just to watch Madame bringing soup to Meme, arranging the clothes, the napkin, it's a marvel of observation. The story hinges on Francois, of course, and his performance is angry, violent, joyous, destructive--he's Pialat's alter ego, I can't help but feel.