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Au Revoir Les Enfants

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The renowned film ‘Au revoir les enfants’ directed by Louis Malle shows the lives of boys in a boarding school that is run by priests. Three new students (including Bonnet) arrive whom at first appear to be like Julien (the protagonist) and the rest of the boys. However, it is soon revealed that they are Jewish children who are kept hidden by the staff at the school – especially when there are raids from the German occupiers. The use of character development is prominently used to convey the historic background that is World war two. Julien, who is one the of main protagonists represents the director (Louis Malle) at the Catholic boarding school in France. This choice of character gives the viewers the closest representation of what occurred in the Second world war even though it is depicted through a film that contains fiction.
Additionally, the construction of characters is broken up in pieces that are not just history. Not only do the young characters in the film make it easier for the younger generation to sympathise and identify with. It also allows time for the viewers to reflect on what they have just seen. As well as this, …show more content…

Comparable to ‘Au revoir les enfants’ it explores the tragic events of the Second world war. Modiano uses assortments of fact, fiction and autobiography to carry his 10-year investigation on Dora Bruder. Dora could be described as Modiano’s ‘imagined double’ as they both have Jewish, immigrant backgrounds and therefore share an impact of the Second world war. Additionally, Modiano uses the novel as a means of interrogating the past he feels he has inherited as a child of 1945. Not only is the novel a search for Dora Bruder, it is also a personal search for his identity. In Modiano’s interview with Gallimard.fr he refers to his extensive research for the novel and

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