The Wild Child is fascinating not only for its Tarzan-like true-life story, but also for what it says about the process of nurturing and educating children, and the tools we use -- language, discipline, affection -- to do so.
The Wild Child
At last an adult film to which you can take your children.
1970 · 1h 23m · G
Drama, History
Directed by
François Truffaut
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The Wild Child
Overview
The true story of Victor of Aveyron. In a French forest circa 1798, an abandoned child — feral, filthy and mentally impaired — is found. Dr Jean Marc Gaspard Itard becomes interested in the case and patiently attempts to civilise the boy.
Director and cast
- François Truffaut Director
- Jean-Pierre Cargol as Victor
- François Truffaut as Dr. Jean Itard
- Françoise Seigner as Madame Guerin
- Jean Dasté as Professor Philippe Pinel
- Annie Miller as Madame Lemeri
- Claude Miller as Monsieur Lemeri
- Paul Villé as Remy
- Nathan Miller as Baby Lemeri
- Mathieu Schiffman Cast
- Jean Gruault Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Nearly four decades after its release, The Wild Child remains startling for its humane clarity, for Nestor Almendros's brilliant black-and-white photography, and for the sense that Truffaut is achieving filmmaking mastery on a very small scale.
An enduring film of enchanting and provocative revelation.
Nearly 40 years after its initial release, Francois Truffaut's The Wild Child (L'Enfant Sauvage) still manages to cast its haunting, poetic spell.
Truffaut never upstages the astounding Cargol; both performers underplay in perfect harmony, turning the story into a duet of paternal affection and paradise lost.
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