The Innocent one in Au Revoir Les Enfants
One of the most interesting themes from the film Au Revoir Les Enfants that was the theme of innocence. This event is from the childhood of the film’s writer, director and producer Louis Malle, and the personal memories he remembers during World War II. The film demonstrates how the theme of innocence is associated with the film and how it plays a major role in the story.
Au Revoir Les Enfants is a film about Malle reimagining his young 12-year-old self as Julien Quentin. His story begins January 1944, in a Catholic boarding school outside of Paris during World War II. Wealthy parents sent their children to this boarding school that was meant to keep the children safe and at the same time, give them…show more content… The children attending the school, have nothing to do with the war going on making them sound innocent in this situation. The innocent eyes of young boys fail to realize what is actually going on from the boundaries of their school. They don't look at war the way other children outside of the school do, because they feel safe. When they hear bombing going on, they calmly walk down to the shelter. No one cries because they're used to this common routine. There is a scene where Julien and Bonnet sneak out into the kitchen during a bombing alert. They don't find it urgent to go hide anymore, instead they find it fun to take food in the kitchen and play piano while the rest of the kids are safe down in the shelter. In fact most boys find it thrilling to give the Nazis wrong directions. Most of the boys at the school take war as a common situation because they're used to it going on, and they accept it as part of their daily lives. Them not having a choice about what is going on around them, is what makes one of the themes being of innocence. As they live in the boarding school, they slowly grow up into something more manly, losing their childish innocence little by little. As they witness their headmaster being taken away, they don't realize that their innocence leaves with the headmaster as well. Their perspective about war changes, as they realize that part of war touched them too, and they didn't feel as safe