This Special Friendship
"What Was Their Guilt?"
A tale of the tender relationship between a twelve-year-old boy and the fourteen-year-old upperclassman who is the object of his desire, all set within the rigid atmosphere of a Jesuit-run school.
Top Cast
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Francis Lacombrade
Georges de Sarre
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Didier Haudepin
Alexandre Motier
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François Leccia
Lucien Rouvière
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Dominique Maurin
Marc de Blajean
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Louis Seigner
Father Lauzon
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Michel Bouquet
Father Trennes
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Lucien Nat
Father Superior
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Gérard Chambre
André Ferron
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Henri Coutet
The employee of the institution
Overview
A tale of the tender relationship between a twelve-year-old boy and the fourteen-year-old upperclassman who is the object of his desire, all set within the rigid atmosphere of a Jesuit-run school.
Rating
7.8
/ 10
82 Reviews 2 Popular
1 Reviews
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CinemaSerf7 Jan 12, 2024As love stories go, this has to be one of the more touching I've seen on film. Set amidst the controlling but not oppressive environment of a Jesuit run school, we meet the young "Comte Georges" (Francis Lacombrade) who develops a friendship with the younger "Alexandre (Didier Haudepin). Now it's not in any way a sexual or predatory relationship, but the two instantly click with the younger lad clearly infatuated with his older friend who sees in "Alexandre" an opportunity to nurture a genuine love and affection. Naturally, the fathers take a fairly dim view of any friendship that suggests even the most platonic degree of intimacies between the boys, and so "Fr. Superior" (Lucien Nat) attempts to put a stop to things by threatening to send "George" away from the school. What now ensues are a series of decisions to be faced by people too young and immature to fully comprehend, let alone, rationalise - and a tragic denouement starts to look increasingly likely as young "Alexandre" really does come across more and more as a "lost sheep". What struck me about this is it's positivity. It's not about abusive priests with canes and excessive doctrine - the Father Superior comes across as a decent man genuinely concerned with the souls of his charges, whilst the two - especially the thoroughly charming Haudepin - just engage as two people whom you could image being friends forever. It has moments of poignancy, of disappointment and of fun - and although maybe it could have taken a bit longer to build the characters more, it is still a potent look at two boys in love - forbidden yet thriving.
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