Les Enfants du marais (1999) - film review

Garris, a young man scarred by his experiences of World War I, settles in a marshland community in Southern France.  Later, he thinks of leaving but cannot bring himself to abandon his friend Riton, who can barely cope with his nagging wife and three wild children.  The two men scrape an honest living doing odd jobs and selling snails and frogs in the nearby town.  One day they strike up a friendship with Pépé, a retired factory owner who used to live in the marshland when he was young.   Jo Sardi, a celebrated boxer, ends up in prison after a brawl with Riton.  When Sardi leaves prison, his first thought is to find Riton and kill him...

Initially panned by the critics but then proving to be a popular success with cinema-goers, Les Enfants du marais is the kind of French film which appeals to international film audiences.  It depicts a way of life which accords with a non-French person’s idealised view of life in France – a way of life which certainly exists no longer and probably never really existed at all.

Whilst the film is unashamedly simplistic and shows nothing of the real hardship of living in a marshland community in the 1930s, it is totally charming and makes for a pleasant cinematic experience.  The acting is generally of a high calibre, which is perhaps what most makes this a satisfying film, in spite of the film’s structural and technical weaknesses.  Every character in the film is a three-dimensional human being, marred by some eccentricity or personality disorder, and the way they interact and discover enough commonality to form friendships is both fascinating and genuine.

What mars the film most is its awkward structure and, in particular, the unnecessary use of voice-over to try to present the film from one character’s perspective (it just does not work).  The sub-plot with the boxer (played by footballer Eric Cantona) appears like a last minute addition and breaks up the narrative badly, ruining the flow of the film and resulting in a contrived and false ending.  Whilst these clumsy additions tarnish the film they do not, thankfully, destroy it.   Thanks largely to its beautiful location photography and engaging performances from its attractive cast, Les Enfants du marais is still an attractive and poignant film.

© James Travers 2002

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