O Mistério do Colégio

The film is set in the boarding school of St. Agil where 3 pupils - Marcel Mouloudji (Macroix), Serge Grave (Baume) and Jean Claudio (Sorgue) - form a secret society whose aim is to escape to America. They meet in a classroom after lights out in the dormitory to bond their commitments to one another. One day, however, one of the pupils goes missing. Then another....

This film keeps you hooked on the mystery and the cast all perform convincingly. We have 2 sets of players - the schoolkids and the teachers - who belong to very different clubs with their own in-fighting amongst themselves.

The set-up in the dormitory is much better than what I experienced when I was at boarding school in Switzerland. We had an open plan room with bunk-beds for 20 - 30 children whilst these guys get a curtained-off area for privacy between each bed. The shenanigans are still the same, however, eg, meeting up and sneaking off after lights out. In my day, it was midnight feasts, carrying out pranks like swapping everyone's slippers around and meeting at a football pitch for a game at midnight. We had to exit and re-enter the school through a window and it was instant expulsion if caught leaving the school premises. 100% record - never caught! Apart from being busted for the slipper swap for which, ironically, I got the slipper! It was one of the favoured forms of punishment at that time. So, I revisited some good memories watching this film. It is also a gripping tale and recommended.