Bene Cumb Plots dealing with human relations taking place in closed environments are not easy to show on screen - even if the background is challenging and characters have to develop. In spite of catchy and versatile beginning, the events later, especially mansion-related ones, seem protracted at times, although there is more dynamism than statics. The romantic link is not evolving sufficiently, and it's climax is somewhat peculiar.Luckily, all major performances are good, including the children who provide realistic approaches, not difficult to achieve sometimes... But when the credits appeared, I had to admit that I had expected more, since it was a French film, and the French are usually vibrant and spirited, but the overall atmosphere was more like a Dutch or Scandinavian one. Or were the war-time Frenchmen all so depressed and torpid?

zionforsell I love this movie. As usual of a French movie, it contains a minimal amount of dialogs. The viewer needs to pay attention to their gesture of emotion, not simply hearing it from the dialog. Hollywood movies are too obvious when it tells everything and leave no spot for viewer to interpret. But if you love a movie that's artsy, it's for you! Gaspard Ulliel is brilliant. Bert is excellent too! She really carries on the story well. But Gaspard shines in the role of the upbeat, mysterious teenager. He still maintains that mystery about the character even to the end. THe movie sets in a wonderfully preserved place and sometimes I watch it just to see how beautiful nature is. Essentially, this movie is not about a war, but about human relationships being put into an intimate situation!

Ralph Michael Stein "Strayed" is the second French movie released in the U.S. recently in which fleeing urban refugees seek to outrun the German Army when the so-called "Phony War" turned very real in the spring of 1940. Where "Bon Voyage" combines a serio-comic homicide and some high-strutting portrayals of sundry officials, a movie star, hangers-on and their sycophants, as well as a conventional anti-Nazi plot, "Strayed" is director Andre Techine's finely honed and narrowly focused look at a family trying to survive.Odile (Emmanuele Beart) lost her husband in the early days of the war (he died a hero-a must for any French WWII film). She and her two children, Philippe (Gregoire Leprise-Ringuet), thirteen, and Cathy (Clemence Meyer), about eight, abandoned their Paris home as German forces surged towards the city. Their car was destroyed by a marauding enemy plane and they narrowly escaped death. Trekking into the woods they're accompanied by a mysterious young man, still a teen, Yvan (Gaspard Ulliel), a fellow who seems to have considerable wilderness skills and whose very short hair was not in fashion among young French men at the time. A clue about his past. Yvan is not forthcoming about his pedigree or his recent activities.Yvan breaks into a lovely house abandoned by its owners, classical music performers. Before letting the family in he insures that they will be there for a while by several acts of sabotage.The story unfolds with relationships developing across age and gender lines, not without problems. Philippe befriends Yvan who can be haughty and dismissive of the younger boy, causing the latter pain. Cathy is a genuine, normal for her age pest, the kind who both exasperates and amuses. And the beautiful Odile finds it hard to resist being attracted to their mysterious benefactor who knows how to bring "home" if not the bacon, then the bunny.Unlike "Bon Voyage" there are no anti-Nazi polemical messages here. Technine provides the basic facts: loss of a husband and father, dislocation that, perhaps, was unnecessary (although Odile does remark that she wouldn't collaborate with the invaders), a dark, almost scary at times benefactor springing up from nowhere. Adapting to rapid change in a lush and verdant countryside still largely unmarked by combat is the key.Scenes are shot with mostly close-ups so that the characters' faces relay feelings. Very good cinematography.Technine is a good storyteller and Beart is quietly effective in the very familiar role of "What's a mother to do?" She hasn't resolved the loss of her husband - she still grieves - but she also can't repress her femininity and sexuality. Odile is very believable as are her kids.An impressive French film.8/10

writers_reign As a fan of WW11-based French movies I caught this one in Paris last month. In their wisdom the selection committee for the London Film Festival have ignored the slightly superior 'Bon Voyage', released earlier this year and plumped for this one under the dubious anglicized title 'Strayed'. Les Egares translates literally as 'The Misled', which is only slightly less cumbersome, though more accurate, than 'Strayed' which is ambiguous to say the least. What we have is Emmanuelle Beart playing down her chocolate-box beauty and giving us the harassed mother with two kids ducking and diving in Occupied France to avoid strafing by Stukas. Street-wise Yvan latches on to the family and because his live-off-the-land knowhow is invaluable Odile (Beart) tolerates him. They find an abandoned château and decide to tough it out for the duration which allows the uneasy sexual attraction to simmer nicely. Beart, who suffered the tragic loss of her real-life partner earlier this year, acquits herself well but overall the movie is low on the totem-pole of recent movies set against this backdrop - already this year, in addition to 'Bon Voyage', we have had (in France, that is) Effroyables Jardins (Strange Gardens) with Jacques Villeret and Andre Dussolier turning in great performances albeit in a much lighter vein, last year's Monsieur Batignole is also a contender while the one they all have to beat is Tavernier's standout 'Laissez-Passer'. In sum: see it for Beart and the photography.