La Classe de Neige

(The Class Trip)

A film by Claude Miller (France, 1997),

with Clément Van den Bergh, Lokman Nalcakan, Yves Verhoeven, François Roy and Emmanuelle Bercot.

Winner of the 1998 Cannes Film Festival Special Jury Prize.

Nicolas leaves on a school trip to the mountains. At 12, he turns out to be very different from the other kids, having no fun and speaking little. Instead, in both his sleeping and waking hours, Nicolas dreams, telling himself terrifying tales and sheltering thus in a very little world of his own, in which fantasy and reality dangerously mix...

Claude Miller achieves a remarkable work on a difficult subject. His choice of a particular point of view -the little boy's- contributes a lot to that effect. As a result, we are forced into Nicolas' fantasies and fears and find it all the harder to distinguish fiction from reality since Miller's camera virtually resorts to no particular effects. The photography actually remains hyper-realistic all along the film, just like in a real life documentary. All we could reproach Miller with is his somewhat too straightforward approach of the character of the father, which might have jeopardized for some the fantasy/reality mix ambiguity. However, the film remains at least interesting while Miller's boldness and Van den Bergh's interpretation truly outstanding. By the way, La Classe de Neige has been produced by Warner Bros.! The same studio that produced Lethal Weapon (and sequels), Batman (and sequels), Under Siege (and sequels), The Avengers (and no sequels please!) etc... A light of hope in the studio's production policy therefore. To be continued...

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