LES ENFANTS DE TIMPELBACH is a fantasy that offers an interesting premise; what would happen if children were so badly behaved that their parents decided to abandon them to their own devices? The film explores how the children adapt - or do not adapt - to their changed surroundings. It's a difficult task; they now have to undertake all those chores such as cooking, cleaning and tidying up, that hitherto they have always taken for granted. The film has its darker elements; there is an internecine conflict between the children strongly reminiscent of Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES. But the film ends good-heartedly with everyone restored and differences overcome. Gérard Depardieu and Carole Bouquet enjoy themselves with a couple of lip-smackingly memorably performances, but the real stars of the film are the children themselves, a marvelous ensemble who seem totally at ease in front of the camera, giving the lie to the old adage that no one should dare to act with animals and children.
