I have to admit its not a point I dwelled on too long as it had little bearing on what I wanted to discuss holistically but found it an interesting facet of the film nonetheless.

I think overall, I saw the character of Joseph in a larger scheme that blurred the lines between a good/bad morality. Even the Nazi soldiers at the restaurant and the ones that pick up the boys after a game of war, seem redeemable in some way. There’s also lastly the sense that the boys are a microcosm for the war outside. People unaware that small actions lead to big consequences.

If we really delve in, we could argue that Bonnet would have been safely kept if Joseph and the other boys such as Julien himself did not practice the Black Market. Thus, Joseph would never have got kicked out and felt a need to sell out to the Gestapo. I wouldn’t put too much weight into this theory but its one that crossed my mind and thought Id mention.

Either way, appreciate the insightful comment and always welcome the criticism!

I agree with you on most of your points, and as the general buzz on Au Revoir, Les Enfants has been overwhelmingly positive, I daresay there’ll be little dissent in the ranks of The Cineastes this time around.

That said, I’d like to disagree with you on one point, namely that Joseph receives as much sympathy as Julien. Perhaps it’s just me, but I’ve always seen Joseph as a pitiful character, never really coming at things straight ahead. When he’s being bullied we see him resist but only in a very superficial fashion, as if he accepts his inferior status. This is emphasized by the scene where he brings up his leg injury as if he’s given up before he’s really put forth an effort. The ending goes along with this as he takes a superior standpoint to Bonnet, proclaiming that he’s “just a jew”. He can’t take anything on an even keel despite his ability to be an average, relatively understandable person, and so he only justifies his betrayal by pretending to be above him, something that makes him even more despicable. Were he to admit his weakness I would’ve found him just as sympathetic as Julien, but he makes no effort to come clean, something which Julien (as Malle’s surrogate) does in making the film.

If there is satire at work, it isn’t hidden by any means but is rather explicit and blown up to super proportions. Its a similar thing to They Live actually, which I found equally campy but hard to ignore its blatant critiques of consumerist culture.