Poil de carotte

This is in my opinion one of the greatest French films, and yet the censors of the time in the UK banned it from being seen. And still in the UK it has not been available to see, and sadly I believe this is a great loss. Both of the lead actors were executed by the Nazis during WW2 and this adds an added poignance to the film. The essence of the film for me is how the red-headed boy contemplates and attempts suicide because he can no longer endure the frustrated wrath of his mother, and how his loving but weak father is unable to intervene and finally literally takes the rope from around his son's neck. The scenes of the child's despair still pack a punch at the audience, and my only wish is that this film should be restored by the BFI. If any film deserves it it is this Duvivier version of Jules Renard's novel from 1932.