This isn't merely a Biblical Bugsy Malone, as the kids used here are skillfully directed and perform within the necessary perimeters of poeticism Jeles is presenting. But the universal use of child actors in the narrative, beyond their symbolic function, disorients, lending depictions of awakenings in all its formats (violence, affection, revolution, &c) a woozy imbalance. There are times when yes, the actions do feel a bit like an art house preamble to a Max Fischer production, but mostly the film comes across not as a large scale school play but as a stone-faced engage-or-die Art with a Capital A experiment. And as Art it is as successful as anything could be. All the obvious readings of history as stonefaced playtime are valid and worthy and worth thinking about, but above all critical responses my immediate one was literal mouth agape awe at the audacity on display.
From what I can gather there's no commercial DVD release of this film (not surprising given some of the content), but the version up on YouTube looks pretty good-- the burnt in English subs are sometimes awkwardly phrased, but whether the effect is intentional or not, it lends everything a self-serious, consciously constructed air that works smartly with the overall feel of the film. This is a fabulously visual film and so in the interest of piquing some adventurous souls into checking it out, here's some screencaps:
