Forbidden Games
A haunting black-and-white elegy where childhood innocence constructs a sanctuary of shadows. Amidst the carnage of war, a secret cemetery becomes a tender yet macabre refuge for a world in ruins.
Forbidden Games
Forbidden Games

Jeux interdits

"War ... and how it affects the lives of our children"

09 May 1952 France 87 min ⭐ 7.8 (337)
Director: René Clément
Cast: Brigitte Fossey, Georges Poujouly, Philippe de Chérisey, Laurence Badie, Suzanne Courtal
Drama War
The Loss of Innocence Ritual as a Coping Mechanism Adult Hypocrisy and Pettiness The Cruelty of Institution
Box Office: $10,188

Forbidden Games - Characters & Cast

Character Analysis

Paulette

Brigitte Fossey

Archetype: The Orphan
Key Trait: Hauntingly expressive eyes and a resilient, if traumatized, imagination.

Motivation

Seeking a sense of security and a way to "keep company" for her dead dog and, by extension, her parents, to prevent them from being truly lost.

Character Arc

Paulette moves from a state of total catatonic shock to finding a morbid but vital purpose in her cemetery, only to be cast back into despair and anonymity when she is separated from Michel at the end.

Michel Dollé

Georges Poujouly

Archetype: The Companion
Key Trait: Loyalty that borders on the obsessive.

Motivation

An emerging love and protective instinct for Paulette, combined with a rebellion against his father's authority and the dullness of peasant life.

Character Arc

Michel shifts from a mischievous farm boy to a devoted protector who sacrifices his own relationship with his family and his social standing to fulfill Paulette's wishes.

Father Dollé

Lucien Hubert

Archetype: The Patriarch
Key Trait: Pragmatic, superstitious, and emotionally distant.

Motivation

Maintaining his social standing and winning a petty feud with his neighbor, Gouard, while managing his farm during the war.

Character Arc

Remains largely static, embodying the provincial stubbornness and greed that contrast with the children's spiritual searching.

Cast

Brigitte Fossey as Paulette
Georges Poujouly as Michel Dolle
Philippe de Chérisey as Francis Gouard
Laurence Badie as Berthe Dolle
Suzanne Courtal as Madame Dolle
Lucien Hubert as Monsieur Dolle
Madeleine Barbulée as Red Cross Nun
Jacques Marin as Georges Dolle
Pierre Merovée as Raymond Dolle
Denise Péronne as Jeanne Gouard
Violette Monnier as Renée Dollé
Fernande Roy as L'autre fille Gouard
Louis Saintève as Le prêtre
André Wasley as Gouard - le voisin
Amédée as Francis Gouard