It’s Not Me, I Swear 2008

It's Not Me, I Swear 2008

It’s Not Me, I Swear 2008
C’est pas moi, je le jure! (original title)
1h 50min | Comedy, Drama, Family | 25 September 2008 (Canada)

Storyline:

Léon is ten years old, has lots of problems and an overly fertile imagination. Of course, there is mom and dad who are always fighting, and those annoying neighbors who get to spend the summer at the beach. And then, there’s Léa, the exasperating girl who’s always right about everything. In the summer of ’68, when mom decides to leave everything behind to start a new life in Greece, Léon is prepared to do anything to kill the pain. Destroy the neighbors’ house, become a professional liar and even, why not, fall in love with Léa. Together, they will overcome the pain of growing up when you feel abandoned.

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La maison des bois 1971

La maison des bois 1971

La maison des bois 1971
52min | Drama | TV Mini-Series (1971– )

User review:

Set in the French countryside during the Great War of 1914-18 Pialat’s extraordinary seven episode TV serial extends the themes of his debut feature L’Enfance Nue, the director however having much more freedom and time to explore the nature of childhood and the impact on children abandoned by their parents. The series focuses on the experiences of three children (including even Michel Tarrazon, the young star of the earlier movie) living out in the country with gamekeeper Albert and Maman Jeanne on the country estate of a Marquis. The gamekeeper and his wife have their own older children, Marcel and Marguerite, but the three boys have been sent there by their parents who have been caught up in the war, the fathers called up to the front, the mothers simply unable to look after them in the present climate.

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Wengler und Soehne 1987

Wengler und Soehne 1987

Wengler und Soehne 1987
Wengler & Söhne (original title)
2h 19min | Drama, History

Storyline:

This film tells a story spanning three generations, from 1871 to 1945. After the farmer’s son, Gustav Wengler, returns from the Franco-German war in 1871, he goes to work in a precision mechanics and optical company. He soon becomes a master craftsman; he is loyal and devoted to this company and promises his director on his deathbed that his sons and grandchildren will also stand by the company. At last, the time comes for his talented grandson Paul to honor this promise and join the company. In the meantime, however, the company has gained a worldwide reputation and supports the Third Reich. Although Paul is skeptical about the Nazi leadership, he continues working for the company. When he sees the company destroyed during the war, old Gustav Wengler realizes his family is responsible for the turn the country has taken.

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Quand j’avais 5 ans je m’ai tué 1994

Quand j'avais 5 ans je m'ai tué 1994

Quand j’avais 5 ans je m’ai tué 1994
1h 40min | Drama | 2 February 1994 (France)

Storyline:

This film is about Gils, a young boy (about ten) in a juvenile mental hospital in 1950’s France. Flashbacks recount his conflicts with authority and his strong relationship with Jessica, a similarly rebellious schoolmate. Simultaneously, a compassionate doctor develops a trusting friendship with Gils, which a higher-ranking authoritarian doctor tries to thwart.

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Zip and Zap and the Captain’s Island 2016

Zip and Zap and the Captain's Island 2016

Zip and Zap and the Captain’s Island 2016
Zipi y Zape y la Isla del Capitán (original title)
Adventure | 29 July 2016 (Spain)

Storyline:

It’s Christmas and Zip and Zap are up to their old tricks. But this time they’ve gone too far and their punishment will be no Christmas vacation and a seemingly boring boat trip with their parents instead. To their surprise, the destination is a spectacular remote island. But a terrifying storm rolls in and they’re forced to seek shelter at a mansion belonging to the eccentric Miss Pam, where children without families enjoy a paradise with no rules. Helped by their new friends, Flecky, Macky and Pippi, the brothers discover that their parents’ sudden disappearance in the middle of the night is related to the mysterious secret behind the island and its strange inhabitants.

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Le vieil homme et l’enfant 1967

Le vieil homme et l’enfant 1967
1h 30min | Comedy, Drama | 11 March 1967 (France)

Storyline:

Claude is a Jew. Because of the risks of an arrest (France is occupied by the Nazis), his parents send him away to an elderly couple in the country. Pepe, the husband, is a Petain supporter and a anti-Semite, but he does not know about Claude’s religion. The film is the story of their growing mutual affection.

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Die Kinder aus Nr. 67 1980

Die Kinder aus Nr. 67 1980

Die Kinder aus Nr. 67 1980
1h 43min | Family | 11 April 1980 (West Germany)

Storyline:

The “Our Gang” type adventures of German working class kids from a Berlin apartment building (number 67) during the early 1930s. With Nazism’s rise, however, their tight-knit group unravels. One leader, Paul, becomes a Nazi. (In a later book of the series, you discover he renounces Nazism and flees to Switzerland.) One, Erwin, resists Nazification. (In a later book, his father takes him to Sweden. He eventually, however, fights for the British.) And the girl, Miriam, who is Jewish, immigrates to Canada. (In a later book, she returns to Europe after the war, where all three comrades finally meet in Geneva to renew their vows of friendship once again.)

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