In a Catholic boarding school during the Nazi occupation of France, Julien Quietin, played by Gaspard Manesse as the character based around Malle, is no ordinary student, he is intelligent and different from the others. A new student arrives at the school one day and becomes a sort of intellectual rival to Julien, but, after some early hostilities, the boys begin to connect and eventually become good friends. Malle does not rely on overly dramatic sequences where not necessary as a way to build find out more...

A carefully constructed epic telling the story of a rich young English boy whose privileged life is upturned by the Japanese invasion of Shanghai. Separated from his parents he is eventually captured and taken to Soo Chow confinement camp next to a captured Chinese airfield. As he and the other civilians are gradually starved, he turns from a child to an adolescent while learning the art of survival. When the war ends, the boy attempts to find his parents. Based on JG Ballard's autobiographical find out more...