This is a beautifully made and acted film that most likely couldn't be made today. The story deals with the love between two boys in a Jesuit school, one being considerably older than the other, and the priests who become aware of the relationship and insist they put an end to it. Thirteen year-old Didier Haudepin's performance as Alexandre, the younger of the two boys is outstanding. His eyes alone convey a multitude of emotions throughout the film and his final few minutes in the film are nothing short of heartbreaking. If anything, the film shows just why older/younger relationships are dangerous... Alexandre is not emotionally equipped to handle the denouement of the relationship and as a result things end tragically. Despite the film's subject matter being handled very subtly, I can't help but wonder what audience and critical reactions were when it was released in 1964. I have to add that I find a couple of the reviewers here who insist that the film is not about homosexuality to be in some serious denial... the two boys are obviously in love, they write and talk openly about it, and at one point are clearly about to take things farther right before they're caught in the greenhouse by a priest. The film is also based on the novel by Roger Peyrefitte, an openly gay writer who according to IMDB's trivia,"lived older/younger male love with a fan of his book." The film is available on YouTube in what looks like a vhs transfer. It deserves to be seen, I'd enjoy seeing it again after a digital remaster.
Review of This Special Friendship
