Directed by Jean Delannoy, the film was released in 1964.
Quite rarely does a film touch one’s soul like “Les Amitiés Particulières” has touched mine.
Based on the novel of the same name, Les Amitiés Particulières tells the touching story of a romantic relationship between a beautiful 12 year old boy and an upperclassman in a 1920s French Catholic School.
Georges de Sarre, an aristocratic French youth is sent to the Catholic boarding school. He quickly develops feelings for another 14 year old boy, Lucien Rouvière. As it turns out, Rouvière is already involved in a homosexual relationship with another boy in his class, André Ferron. After Georges gets André expelled in order to be with Rouvière, Rouvière decides to embrace Catholicism and fight his homosexual impulses. But another boy, beautiful Alexandre, catches Georges attention. The film exquisitely deals with how the relationships starts and develops, and how it is dealt with the various priests in the school.
Rouvière and Georges
Beautiful Alexandre, played by Didier Haudepin
The Confessor Priest and Alexandre
The novel, written by Roger Peyrefitte in 1948, is largely autobiographical. In fact, Peyrefitte was known for his pederastic inclinations: While on the set of the film, Peyrefitte met the 12-year-old aristocrat Alain-Philippe Malagnac d’Argens de Villèle, who had been cast as a choir boy and was a big fan of the book.
The novel's front cover
Not only did Peyrefitte sign Alain-Philippe’s copy of the book but the two also fell in love, pursuing a stormy relationship that Peyrefitte chronicled in some of his later novels such as Notre Amour (1967) and L’Enfant de cœur (1978).
In order to avoid spoiling the film, I will not go into further plot details, but in my opinion, it is unlike any other films. Though released in the early 60s and being black-and-white, it is never dull, and always exquisite. I would dare say that it is probably one of the best films I have ever seen.
Embedded below is part 1 of the film. The rest of the parts can be found on Youtube (both in the original French version, and the English subtitled one).
Beautiful film!
The boy looks youing
By: Anonymous on November 7, 2009
at 7:59 pm
Well, I’d say Alexandre looks about 12, maybe 11, but still in the 12 yo ballpark which is supposed to be the character’s age. I think Georges looks older than 14, though, so that’s why some people say it borders on pedophilia.
But I disagree. It is after all an emotional pederastic relationship, not a sexual one, and it is perfectly normal for emotional pederasts (especially when they’re teenagers themselves) to fall for 12 year olds. Especially when they look like Alexandre!
By: eromenos on November 7, 2009
at 8:04 pm