LES ENFANTS DE TIMPELBACH is a fantasy that offers an interesting premise; what would happen if children were so badly behaved that their parents decided to abandon them to their own devices? The film explores how the children adapt - or do not adapt - to their changed surroundings. It's a difficult task; they now have to undertake all those chores such as cooking, cleaning and tidying up, that hitherto they have always taken for granted. The film has its darker elements; there is an internecine conflict between the children strongly reminiscent of Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES. But the film ends good-heartedly with everyone restored and differences overcome. Gérard Depardieu and Carole Bouquet enjoy themselves with a couple of lip-smackingly memorably performances, but the real stars of the film are the children themselves, a marvelous ensemble who seem totally at ease in front of the camera, giving the lie to the old adage that no one should dare to act with animals and children.
Review of Trouble at Timpetill
