War of the Buttons

The handsome but rudderless French film War of the Buttons is the latest in a long string of movies—including Yves Robert's 1962 international hit anti-war rendition, and a charming 1994 adaptation set in Ireland—based on a 1912 novel by Louis Pergaud about feuding boys from rival villages. This new version, situated in 1940s France during the Nazi occupation, combines a coming-of-age love story with a Lord of the Flies-like scenario—all set against brewing tensions between the French Resistance and Vichy collaborators over a Jewish girl in the village of Longeverne. The story's fundamental hook, a territorial struggle between the boys of Longeverne and those of the nearby village of Velrans, occupies a lot of screen time, played both for laughs and would-be mini-tragedy, yet writer-director Christophe Barratier can't seem to do much with the tale besides raising the level of anger and violence. Meanwhile, as if in a parallel universe, the film follows Jewish schoolgirl Violette (Ilona Bachelier), who has arrived in Longeverne under a false identity. In time, a local rebel (Jean Texier) and others will conspire to save her from the Vichy, but that compelling drama—which ultimately heals frayed relationships and identifies Resistance heroes—comes very late in the film, making it more of a lost opportunity than a satisfying resolution. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD extras include a “making-of” featurette (35 min.), bloopers (4 min.), deleted scenes (3 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (T. Keogh)