The Children of the Marshland

1999
7.4| 1h55m| en
Details

The film is set in Marais, a quiet region along the banks of Loire river in 1918. Riton is afflicted with a bad-tempered wife and three unruly children. Garris lives alone with his recollections of World War I trenches. Their daily life consists of seasonal work and visits from their two pals: Tane, the local train conductor and Amédée, a dreamer and voracious reader of classics.

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Reviews

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
Tom A masterpiece from Jean Becker, 'Les Enfants du Marais' is a stunning celebration of the spirit of the common man. The film features an admirable performance by Michel Serrault as 'Pépé', set in the picturesque French countryside. Dreujou's breath-taking photography makes the film a must for any French-loving film-goer.A real feel good movie.
David_Niemann Riton and Garriss are friends who live by a picturesque marsh, in early 1900's France and make a living by selling flowers, snails and frogs. Former Manchester United football star Eric Cantona plays boxer Jo Sardi, who is in town for a big title fight. The film follows their adventures and the different people they meet, some friends, some lovers and some enemies.I found most of the locations to be very good looking and very pleasing to the eye. And the film does contain some bits of comedy and drama, but the majority of the film is just so boring. Sometimes it seems as if the film has no point, and aimlessly wanders from boring scene to boring scene.I really enjoyed Jacques Villeret in "The Dinner Game", but for the most part I found him really irritating and he got on my nerves a lot in this film. Jacques Gamblin does a good job of his character. But for the first half of the film I just couldn't fall in love with the two characters, which is very bad considering this is a character based film rather than plot based.Eric Cantona might have been a good football player but as an actor he should have got a red card. Every single scene he is in is ultimately pointless and boring. If all of his scenes were cut it wouldn't make too much of a difference. In the scene where he has the run in with Riton, near the beginning, he drasticly over-acts to the point of crassness. In fact, the first 30 minutes could be cut and not too much would be lost.But for the weak (and pointless, i.e. Jo Sardi) characters, there are a bunch of good characters. One of my favorites is Mr Richard. The scenes with him and his grandson are very touching and moving. He certainly adds a lot to the film.Amedee is another nice character, who is interested in music and books. He tags along on some of the main protagonists adventures. I also think he looks like TV host Jerry Springer!The other character that I most enjoyed was Madame Mercier. Riton and Garriss do work in her garden (though Riton prefers to drink her fine wine rather than slave in her garden!).Ultimately, a nice ending, a few good characters and the beautiful location can't fully compensate for the arduous and boring scenes, which sadly make up most of the film.Gravely disappointing.7/10
mutefaktor hmmm.. I read sumone thought the french language added atmosphere (lol!). I agree with that. It´s also the nicest thing I can say about this crap. I sat through it waiting for something to happen. All in vain...This is a boring movie made for boring people, though if edited with a butchers knife it could make a pretty good tourist commercial...I like most french films I´ve seen, darn I usually even like slow movies where u have to fill in the blanks yourself. but this.. this had no substance whatsoever!
guppyjaja "Les enfants du Marais" is one of the best movies I've ever seen! The scenario is beautiful and moving. It is such a poignant story of friendship! At the end of it, we feel really peaceful. Those who love sex and violence will hate ! :-)