Claudio Carvalho "Un sac de billes" is another film about a Jewish family shattered by the German invasion. The story is not original since the tragedies are very alike and there is lack of emotion with the cold direction by Christian Duguay. After more than seventy years and hundreds of movies about this sad period of the mankind history, a new film about this theme should have something different in excitement or emotion; otherwise will give the sensation of déjàvu for the viewer. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Os Meninos Que Enganavam Nazistas" ("The Boys That Lure the Nazi")

kluseba A Bag of Marbles is yet another novel and movie about the fate of a Jewish family during the Second World War. Don't get me wrong, it's an important topic, a dark part of history that shall never be forgotten and a thematic that is sadly still relevant nowadays. However, so many novels and movies have already explored the exact same approach presented in this film: Au revoir les enfants, Life is Beautiful, The Book Thief, The Diary of Anne Frank and Schindler's List are only some movies that immediately come to my mind. Instead of getting another similar scenario, it would have been interesting to follow the torn family of collaborators in this film for example. Another fresh change could have been to finally offer the perspective of young German soldiers manipulated by propaganda and disillusioned by war. Since this is a French movie, it's also a little bit too convenient to simply blame the foreign enemy and would have been much more interesting to investigate the crimes of Marshal Pétain in depth. Why not make a movie about revolting French antisemitism in the Dreyfus Affair? Or a movie about France's own racist attitude in their colonies? Instead of trying out anything new, A Bag of Marbles plays it safe and the fact that the novel and movie are based upon true events doesn't help much. On the positive side, the acting performances by the teenagers incarnating the two brothers are stellar. The changes of locations keep the movie entertaining and give it an epic touch. The addition of numerous quirky side characters who are trying to find ways to hide their fears adds diversity to the film. There are a few memorable scenes such as the father beating up his own son to teach him how to deny his identity, the younger brother stepping up to save a family of collaborators in an act of civic courage and the same character desperately running after his desperate sweetheart whose family just got attacked by an angry mob.On the other side, the story doesn't offer anything new, is slightly dull and slow-paced in the middle section and only touches the surface of several interesting characters such as the Jewish doctor or the family of collaborators. Several chapters from the novel aren't included in the cinematic adaptation and a few details are also changed. Instead of showing the brothers endlessly wandering across mountains, the film should have spent more time developing the numerous interesting side characters and giving some additional information about the historic background.In the end, A Bag of Marbles is ultimately a good film but suffers from being just another movie about the fate of a Jewish family during the Second World War. The movie itself has its reasons to be, has a quirky and epic approach going for it and convinces with two really good lead actors. However, European cinema has been saturated with movies of this kind over the past three decades and this film fails both to offer anything new and to compete with its numerous competitors. The most authentic, gripping and sinister movie of this kind is the outstanding The Pianist. But if you really want to get an idea of the horrors of the Second World War, you have to visit a former concentration camp which is an absolutely life-changing experience.

Luigi Di Pilla I am very interested in movies about the last world war. What makes me sad is how brutal the chase was against Jewish people and children. This true story let since long time again tears in my eyes. I mean Patrick Bruel and the two boys played their roles very convincingly and with lot of passion. The filming locations in Nice and Savoie have been well presented. I liked it very much and it was never boring. There were lot of turns and some painful scenes that touched me a lot. Christian Dugay directed this historical remake with full of attention and respect. I didn't see the first one but the last is perhaps even better than the original version. If you liked this genre of movie don't miss Der Letzte Zug, Son of Soul, Die Fâlscher, The Pianist, Sarah's Key or Elser. If you are interested read my critics on this site for all these mentioned great movies.8/10

waitsfortherain There is a borderline territory between reality and dreams where we all dwell in early childhood. As we grow up, it starts fading away. By the time we become adults, most of us can hardly remember having been there. To bring it back is unthinkable. No one can do it. Yet, with varying degrees of success, some insist on trying. The vehicle they choose also varies a lot. It can be a novel, a play, a poem, a song- - or a film. Some of the most amazing re-creations of the lost territory between reality and dreams are films directed by immensely gifted artists who, from the start, knew exactly what they were after and not for a moment lost track of what they had to do to get it. This kind of film cannot afford being "all right." It must be perfect. Otherwise the whole project fails. Nothing happens. It becomes a film that never was."A Bag of Marbles" may be one of the four or five films of that kind ever made without a single frame that could be called phony. I cannot remember the last time I saw a regular audience, not the audience of a premiere or a film festival, applaud in the end. It never fails to move me when it happens. It happened yesterday at the end of this marvelous film, made with so much care that it's destined to become a milestone. Photography couldn't be more beautiful, nor could the art direction, bringing to life in the most extraordinary way the atmosphere of occupied France in the early 1940s. The music is perfect. The screenplay is a gem, its treatment of time being absolutely breathtaking. But the star of the show really is the casting director. It's very rare to see a film with so many peripheral characters in which every single actor has been cast to perfection. Not to mention the choice of Dorian Le Clech, the little boy who plays the lead. A really long time will have to go by until we see another child play such a complex character with so much authority. The man who put it all together, turning "A Bag of Marbles" into one of the most rewarding experiences in movie-going anyone may have had in years, surely deserves the beautiful, quite unexpected tribute I saw him get from a regular audience as the film ended and they realized Christian Duguay had honored them with a masterpiece.