The Green House

Contrasting the whimsical world of a child with the fierce surroundings of World War II France, Philippe de Broca's The Green House is a breezy little film that uses fantasy and imagination to combat the pain of death and fear. When his son is brutally murdered by the Nazis for breaking curfew, Fernand Bonard (Claude Rich) adopts his eight-year-old granddaughter Philippine (a charming Salomee Stevenin), and creates a make-believe world for her, in which her father is a war hero out on dangerous spy missions. The child believes his fairytale, and he soon begins to believe it himself, in an attempt to deny his own cowardice. While The Green House is lighthearted without too much artificial sweetness, the happy ending of the film is rather pat, considering there's no real repercussions for the grandfather's betrayal. Optional. (L. Russo)