L’enfance nue
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Synopsis
The singular French director Maurice Pialat puts his distinctive stamp on the lost-youth film with this devastating portrait of a damaged foster child. We watch as ten-year-old François (Michel Terrazon) is shuttled from one home to another, his behavior growing increasingly erratic, his bonds with his surrogate parents perennially fraught. In this, his feature debut, Pialat treats that potentially sentimental scenario with astonishing sobriety and stark realism. With its full-throttle mixture of emotionality and clear-eyed skepticism, L’enfance nue (Naked Childhood) was advance notice of one of the most masterful careers in French cinema, and remains one of Pialat’s finest works.
Picture 7/10
The Criterion Collection releases their second film by director Maurice Pialat (the first being A nos amour, almost 200 spine numbers ago) with L’enfance nue, presenting the film in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 on this dual-layer disc, enhancing it for widescreen televisions.
Though by now it’s well known and has become a source of controversy to some, I was stunned by just how much the transfer leans over towards a yellow tint after first popping it in. I don’t think it’s as bad as some have made it out to be, based on screen captures and comparisons to the Masters of Cinema edition (which certainly leans towards cooler colours) that are out there but it’s noticeable. Criterion has already addressed the issue (found here,) basically stating their research concluded this colour scheme was correct. I do actually like the warmer tone and find it suiting, but I can’t help but wonder if maybe it was overdone in certain areas. The sky looks rather yellow in plenty of sequences and people can look to have a severe case of jaundice from time to time. I think the worst offender is the second capture below, but the level does vary throughout the film.
That colour tone will be a deciding factor for many, and some will like it and some won’t. As to whether it’s what Pialat would have wanted I don’t know and can’t say, but I still have to say personally it can look a little odd.
The rest of the transfer looks pretty good on the other hand. Definition and clarity aren’t great, limited by the source materials I feel, presenting a picture that looks fuzzy around the edges. The transfer is very clean and presents no visible artifacts or compression issues, and the print is in good shape, but still contains a few minor but noticeable flaws.
I think the actual digital transfer is good, but the yellow colour tone will be the deciding factor. The Masters of Cinema edition also looks good, so it’s going to come down to personal preference on the colour scheme.
Audio 6/10
The disc’s Dolby Digital 1.0 mono track is nothing special, coming off incredibly weak and hollow. Voices are weak and sound very flat, but the track is at least clean, free from any noise or distortion. Otherwise, again, it never really stands out as more than a slightly below average mono track.
Extras 7/10
We get a solid set of supplements, though most of them have been carried over from the UK Masters of Cinema edition (but not all of them.)
First, and probably the best supplement here, is the 52-minute documentary Autour de “L’enfance nue” which was made in 1969 just after the film’s release. This is a different sort of “making-of” documentary, veering off and focusing to a staggering degree on the film’s subject matter, that of children in the foster system. The documentary gathers interviews with those of the cast and crew, including Pialat, about the film and its subject matter, but presents more information about France’s foster child system, presenting interviews with children (whose faces are hidden to protect their identities) currently in the system, and adults who were in the system. As a making-of I found it lacking, but it’s look into the foster child system in France is still quite enthralling and makes it a worthwhile supplement.
Criterion then includes Pialat’s first short film, L’amour existe, a documentary of sorts about post-war France and the suburbs outside of Paris. It’s an incredibly critical piece, with voice over narration talking over the images of “faux luxe” homes (as the narrator calls them,) the poor that live in shanty towns on the edge of the burbs, and the long, grueling commute many must make. It’s a nice looking film, and edited beautifully, a nice early look into Pialat’s work.
Exclusive to this release is a video-essay/interview with Kent Jones, a short 11-minute piece about Pialat’s techniques, the film’s characters, and the shifts in tone. Though he certainly has some fascinating comments it was a fairly light piece.
Criterion then includes 15-minutes worth of excerpts from an interview with Maurice Pialat, recorded in February of 1973 after a showing of the film on television. Pialat explains to the host (who has the scariest hair I have ever had the displeasure of seeing) why he thinks the film did poorly during its release and how the subject matter probably scared many away. He briefly touches on his opinions of the film now, admitting he’d probably change some things if he could and talks about other films that are similar. It’s unfortunately focused primarily on the film’s box office failure rather than much else, but it’s a solid inclusion. But I do wish Criterion included the rest of the interview, though.
And the final disc supplement is a brief 6-minute interview with Arlette Langmann and Patrick Grandperret, co-writer and assistant director to the film, respectively. It’s sparse, only quickly covering the research, the “script” for the film (a lot was improvised) and how the non-professional actors handled the shoot. Again, probably too brief and it feels to have been edited down, but it offers a little bit of information about the production.
The thin booklet that accompanies the release only includes a short but informative essay about Pialat and this film by Phillip Lopate.
Altogether they’re a fairly good collection of features that add some real value to the film, and those who have never owned the film before on DVD will be surely happy with them, but they add nothing really new over previous editions available in other regions, the MoC in particular.
Closing
It’s a decent release, though it’s going to come down to personal taste, since I doubt anyone truly knows what Pialat wanted, with the yellow tone of the transfer being an issue for many (but it’s still not as bad as many are making it out to be.) The other aspects of the transfer are excellent, and the supplements are still all rather valuable altogether.
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