My Grading System

A+ = Masterpiece (I hold back on this one.) / A = Great. / A- = Really Good. / B+ = Good. / B = Decent (Serviceable). / B- = Flawed but okay (For those times there's something redeeming about the work). / C+ = Not very good (Skip it). C = Bad. / C- = Awful. / F = Complete Disaster (I hold back on this one too).

Note on Spoilers: I will try to avoid ruining a story by going into too much detail. But if I wish to include some revealing points to my analysis I will try to remember to add a separate spoiler paragraph.

Friday, July 12, 2013

L'Enfant sauvage [The Wild One] (1970)

Based on a true story, a late eighteenth century French doctor tries to tame an abandoned child found in the woods.   Without human contact, the child (named Victor) is basically an animal and many consider a helpless cause.   What I love about this film is its simplicity.   It doesn’t have any fancy music or flashy editing it’s just the story told in a naturalistic way.  Director François Truffaut casts himself as the doctor and services the film well, considering at times the doctor acts like he’s directing Victor instead of teaching him at first.  And the young actor, Jean-Pierre Cargol, who plays Victor does a sublime job, so much so it feels like you could be watching a documentary.  I’d have to include Jean-Pierre in the top ten best child actor performances of all-time.  There are many beautiful moments crafted by a master filmmaker in his prime and at 80 minutes it ends perfectly without overstaying its welcome.  Grade: A
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