Review #262: 'The Wild Child' (1970)

Whilst Jean-Luc Godard focused on a more politically motivated form of cinematic expression in the late 1960's, his friend Francois Truffaut continued his own personal form of human experience cinema. Now that of course is no bad thing, when you consider this perfect little gem of a film. Not one of his most famous films, The Wild Child tells the true story of 18th century doctor, Jean Itard (Truffaut himself), and his discovery of the later named Victor (Jean-Pierre Cargol), a ferel child found in the forests and brought into Parisian civilisation.

The film is a more sociological exploration of what it means to be modern and civilised. When the boy is brought into the modern world, he obviously experiences many things that frighten and confound him. The child is forced to conform to what civilisation sees as correct. But what exactly is correct? Is order and formality the key to progression, or is it simply an understanding and connection with the natural world? It's interesting that Victor never cries, until he is in the stages of being civilised. It is exactly this kind of order that upsets the boy. Which raises the question, are it the confusions and pressures of civilisation the root cause for modern extremes of emotions?

Well, of course, we are not able to answer any of these questions that the film raises, and the film does not try to offer any. This aside, the film, shot in black and white, is a fundamentally beautiful story of the human condition, and the utter absurdity of the structures and societies we have constructed around us. The film was later reproduced for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984), but was not nearly as successful in creating such beguiling reactions, and questions on the nature of reality. Wonderful.


Directed by: François Truffaut
Starring: Jean-Pierre Cargol, François Truffaut, Françoise Seigner
Country: France

Rating: *****

Marc Ivamy