Forbidden Games
Some films sneak up on you — this one just knocks you flat. Forbidden Games opens in June 1940, with Parisians fleeing under Nazi fire. In the chaos, little Paulette chases her puppy across a bridge and loses everything else instead. It’s brutal, but oddly calm, like war has just become another kind of weather — something you endure if you’re lucky.
What comes next isn’t about innocence lost so much as innocence hanging on for dear life. Paulette ends up in the countryside and meets Michel, a kid just as bewildered by it all. Together they start building a tiny graveyard for the things war leaves behind — pets, toys, bits of normal life — a strange but touching way to make sense of it all.
It began as a short, and you can tell; things slow down once the adults take over. But Clément keeps it grounded, and Brigitte Fossey’s quiet little performance carries the whole thing. It’s sad, simple, and oddly comforting — a film that never tries too hard and stays with you anyway.
What comes next isn’t about innocence lost so much as innocence hanging on for dear life. Paulette ends up in the countryside and meets Michel, a kid just as bewildered by it all. Together they start building a tiny graveyard for the things war leaves behind — pets, toys, bits of normal life — a strange but touching way to make sense of it all.
It began as a short, and you can tell; things slow down once the adults take over. But Clément keeps it grounded, and Brigitte Fossey’s quiet little performance carries the whole thing. It’s sad, simple, and oddly comforting — a film that never tries too hard and stays with you anyway.
Mini Review: Forbidden Games hits hard right from the start — a little girl loses everything in the chaos of war and finds comfort in building tiny graves for what’s been left behind. It’s dark, strange, and tender all at once. Brigitte Fossey is heartbreakingly good, and Clément keeps it all beautifully understated. A quiet, haunting film that lingers long after it ends.
Watch the Trailer