Bagnes d'enfants: A grim look at broken reform

Is it worth the watch?

Look, if you’re into the kind of silent era cinema that makes you want to crawl under a blanket and avoid sunlight, Bagnes d'enfants is your pick. It’s definitely not for anyone looking for a fun night in. If you find old-school melodrama a bit too stiff, you’ll probably be checking your watch by the twenty-minute mark.

The whole thing feels like a punch in the gut that’s been sitting in a cold room for a hundred years. It’s not subtle, and it doesn't want to be.

The setup

George is a troubled kid. His dad is a saint who just can’t get through to him. Next thing you know, the magistrate—who I’m pretty sure has 'villain' written all over his face—steps in to 'save' the boy. It’s the classic setup for a disaster.

The reformatory is less of a school and more of a gray, suffocating box. The cinematography has this weirdly static, dusty quality. You can almost smell the damp walls. It feels honestly miserable.

Odd notes from the screen

• The magistrate’s office is far too clean. It makes him look even creepier.
• There’s a moment where George looks at the camera, and it’s surprisingly modern. Like he knows he’s stuck in a bad edit.
• The extras in the background look like they haven’t slept since the previous war.
• The lighting in the dormitories is suspiciously dark. Did they run out of candles?

There’s a strange disconnect here. It reminds me a bit of the heavy-handed moralizing in —it’s a similar kind of 'lesson learned the hard way' vibe, but way less forgiving.

I found myself wondering if George actually did anything that bad to deserve this place. The movie doesn't really care to explain his crimes. It just wants you to feel the weight of the bars.

The pacing is… well, it’s a crawl. Some shots hold for so long you start noticing the dust motes dancing in the light. It’s almost hypnotic, but in a 'please let something happen' kind of way.

I think the film gets better when it stops trying to be a social commentary and just leans into the tragedy. When it gets quiet, it’s actually kind of chilling. Don’t expect a happy ending. Don't even expect a fair one. It’s just a long, sad sigh of a movie.