The Wild Child(L'Enfant sauvage)

In his semi-documentary drawn from a sensational case history from 18thcentury France, Truffaut directs and gives a compassionate performance as Dr. Jean Itard, who adopted and tried to civilise a ‘wolf boy’ living a feral existence in the forest. Told with sensitivity and perceptiveness, the story strikes a chord with his father-son relationship with critic André Bazin. Deeply moving, it returns Truffaut to his keynote theme of the vulnerability and intensity of childhood, while he makes petty ironies on scientific investigation. His caring concerns for children and his thoughtful statements on the fundamentals of education and civilisation are as relevant today, forty years after his passing.

French Syndicate of Cinema Critics: Best Film

17/8 (Sat): Film talk with Sonia Au