Heiners Filmseiten – This Special Friendship (en)

Cult movie: This Special Friendship

(Les amitiés particulières)

German title: Heimliche Freundschaften
Spain title: Las amistades particulares
Russian title: Странная дружба
Original title: Les amitiés particulières

Youth drama – France
Production year: 1964
Movie length: 99 minutes

Director: Jean Delannoy
Writer: Jean Aurenche, Pierre Bost, Roger Peyrefitte
Cinematograph: Christian Matras
Music: Jean Prodromidès

Movie description:

»Special friendships« are youthful relationships with homoerotic overtones, and this film explores them in the setting of a strict French Roman Catholic boys’ boarding school in the 1920s. The faculty are ever alert, depriving the students of all privacy. When a vulnerable fifteen-year old boy, motivated variously by jealousy, subservience and fear, or genuine good intentions, co-operates with his teachers’ campaigns to repress all suggestion of romance or impropriety in his own and others’ friendships, he betrays everyone most important to him.

At a Catholic boarding school for boys, adolescent newcomer George is surprised to learn that it is not atypical for the teens to court the littler ones, but once his eyes fall upon fourth grader Alexandre, he fully understands and sets out to form a friendship despite warnings from the priests to avoid such things. Always in fear of discovery, George’s wit and both boys’ determination keep the relationship alive, even once they have been exposed. Yet, will the church separate them as it wishes to, or will the two rendezvous in the summer as they desire?

A touching and sad lost classic based on Roger Peyrefitte’s 1945 novel.

Boy Actors