A widowed schoolteacher flees nazi-occupied paris with her children. A teenaged boy comes to their rescue by leading them into the forest -- their best shot at survival. Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 06/19/2007 Starring: Emmanuelle Beart Gaspard Ulliel Run time: 95 minutes Rating: Nr

Emmanuelle Béart gives another beautiful performance in this fable-like story of World War II. She plays a widow with two children in tow; escaping from Paris, their car is bombed in the countryside and they stagger into the woods along with a rough, savvy teenage boy (the feral Gaspard Ulliel). Their idyll in an abandoned chateau takes up the remainder of the film, as various tensions simmer within this ad hoc family unit. Director Andre Techine (Wild Reeds, Scene of the Crime) is a master of the small, telling moment and the frailty of people in a natural landscape. He also proves, in the riveting sequence of Germans attacking the line of refugees, that he could probably make a great action film if he cared to. Along with Béart's sensuality, his treatment of hushed interiors and sympathy for the imagination of children creates an intimate arena for these lost souls. --Robert Horton

André Téchiné's name is synonymous with great French films. He is best known for My Favorite Season (1993) and Wild Reeds (1994), both of which are included in the recent release of the Andre Techine Boxset. Based on Gilles Perrault's novel, Le Garçon aux yeux gris, Strayed (Les égarés) (2003), is a return to form for Téchiné a decade after his release of Wild Reeds. Set in June, 1940, the subtle wartime drama tells the poignant story of Odile (Emmanuelle Béart), a beautiful beautiful young widowed teacher, who flees Nazi-occupied Paris for the South with her small daughter, Cathy (Clemence Meyer), and teen-aged son, Philippe (Gregoire Leprise-Ringuet). After they are joined by a wilderness-savvy young man with a shaved head, Yvan (Gaspard Ulliel), the four seek refuge in an abandoned chateau as an unconventional family. There are no anti-Nazi lessons here. The film is ultimately about the relationships between the four characters. Béart brings an equally intelligent and sensual performance to this World War II story. The impressive film reveals Téchiné's gift as a storyteller This DVD edition features interviews with Téchiné, Gaspard Ulliel, and Gilles Perrault.

G. Merritt

I don't really know what to say other than that this is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. Gaspard Ulliel (Hannibal Rising) was excellent as Yvan. Emmanuelle Beart was also wonderful.

I don't like the name because it is 'un-memorable' but this little film is a great watch and you just keep thinking about it afterwards. Nice bite of history that has been glossed over. Beautiful feeling and just can't say enough good about it.
Glad I watched!
barb

This film by French director André Téchiné is set in the summer of the civilian exodus from Paris during the invasion of the German armies at the start of WWII. Viewers expecting to be informed by a recreation of historical events will be disappointed, as this film has other things on its mind. Instead, it becomes a psychological study of a war widow with two children who falls under the influence of a mysterious teenage boy as they take refuge from aerial strafing in an isolated, empty house deep in the wooded countryside. In many ways, the time and place are unimportant; it could be just about anytime, anywhere.

The young man keeps food on the table by snaring rabbits in the woods and tries to gain possession of a confiscated gun, the mother's young son tries unsuccessfully to win his friendship, and two French soldiers spend an overnight at the house. Meanwhile, erotic tension slowly builds, though there are at least fifteen years between the widow and her young protector, and the film takes a long time deciding whether to consummate it. Eventually, the reality of the outside world intervenes and the story resolves itself as the mystery of the young man is at least partly solved. Slow, but with a few unexpected revelations. The DVD includes interviews with Téchiné and the author of the novel on which the film was based.

Despite its WWII setting and frightening opening sequence, STRAYED ("Les Egarés") is a quiet and pastoral film. The movie concerns itself with a small family holed up in a chateau with an oddly self-reliant teenager named Yvan. It's a blessedly small story, and frankly, not much happens. (I repeat: Not much happens.)

This is not a criticism; intimate mood pieces are fine by me, leaving the viewer at leisure to evaluate the acting performances. Though at first she seems a cipher, I was impressed by Emmanuelle Béart's acting. Only having seen her in "glamorous" roles before, I was impressed by her ability to look pensive and melancholy in a role where she is uncertain of her place in the scheme of things. The lion's share of dialogue belongs to her son and Yvan, with a daughter thrown into the mix seemingly as an afterthought.

Anyway, at one point a visiting French soldier tells Béart that she needs to snap out of her dreamland. That's how I felt watching this movie; it was a very pleasant dream, but its plot had no momentum and could be interrupted at any point without ill effects... and then returned to again.

SIDELIGHT: The DVD's cover is strictly for marketing; this is by no means a torrid love story.