Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32287 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-06-26
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 96 minutes

Synopsis
The friendship and trust that develops rapidly between a 17-year-old homeless boy and a young mother with two children is the basis for Andre Techine's 'Strayed'. They find each other during a terrifying WWII bombing as they are escaping Paris for the countryside. Yvan is a recluse hiding in the woods. Odile is a widow trying to get her children to safety. Together, the group finds a magical abandoned chateau hidden far back in the forest, and they take shelter there. Settling into a nearly idyllic secret existence as the rest of the world endures the hardships of war; their situation is fairly surreal. Yvan is resourceful and self-sufficient, instantly taking on the role of the man in the family. He hunts for rabbits, delights the children with his youthfulness and curiosity, and even ignites a romantic spark in Odile. But there is always a sense of urgency and doubt, as if the temporary paradise they've stumbled upon will come to a rapid halt and fall into the shadows of some looming dark event. A beautiful film that takes a carpe diem approach to survival - and loving life - during wartime, 'Strayed' is rich with substance while also being a visually enjoyable and entertaining film from talented director Techine.

Customer Reviews

A good story, competently told
Having already seen the young Gaspard Ulliel perform so convincingly in "A Very Long Engagement", "The Last Day", "Summer Things", and recently (at the cinema) in "Paris, Je t'Aime", I bought this DVD to see how he performed opposite Emmanuelle Beart, the ever-youthful queen of French cinema. I was not disappointed, but neither was I blown-away by this moody WW2 drama.

Ulliel and Beart play their parts with characteristic style and concision, but alas the director could have made much more of the threatening aspect of their forest setting. There were numerous lost opportunities to heighten tension, and deepen character. For example, more could have been made of Ulliel's nocturnal wanderings, or even of the wanderings of others traipsing the roads of rural France, fleeing from the enemy. Also, the use of black-and-white documentary material could have been augmented by flashbacks of Ulliel's own poor life in the reformatory. The ambiguity at the film's end over the fate of Ulliel felt somewhat contrived, and by this time I was a little disappointed that Beart's character had not opened out into something more substantial.

But let me not detract from what is a good story, competently-told. It is an enjoyable film, that never loses fascination, and can be wholeheartedly recommended for an evening's viewing.

An interesting take on wartime drama
For the most part, this film plays out with just four characters - when fleeing Paris, young widow Odile and her two children hook up with the resourceful Yvan, a youth of uncertain background.
Deep in a forest, they find refuge in a large and isolated country house - a kind of fairytale sanctuary largely hidden from the horrors going on all around.
Grainy black and white war scenes occasionally break up the lush shots of the forest and house, signalling to the viewer that reality will soon disturb the fragile idyll the refugees have found.
This is an intriguing and thoughtful tale of a disturbed youth and a broken family's efforts to find comfort and a semblance of normality in each other's company. In stark contrast to the traditional focus of war films on action and fighting, this one concentrates on a mother's struggle to protect her family, and is all the more powerful for it.

Entertaining early WW2 Drama
The highlight of "Strayed" is the phenomenal acting peformance from Emmanuelle Beart in the lead role of Odile, a recently widowed mother of two, fleeing from the Nazis in 1940's France. Beart binds the film together superbly ; a film with a mostly youthful cast.After her family escape from a terrible German bombing raid at the start of the film, Odile and her children find shelter in an abandoned mansion with a mysterious teenage boy who they meet en route and with whom Odile develops romantic(well erotic) feelings. His survivalist skills help develop the hideaway into something of a pastoral idyll until what remains of the French authorities bring it to an end. "Strayed" is dominated by Beart from start to finish and this offbeat film is enjoyable throughout.