"Demi-tarif", or "Half Price", has the same set-up as the classic Japanese movie, "Nobody Knows". It also deals with a group of siblings who are effectively abandoned by their parents and must fend for themselves.
The difference here, however, is that the tone is not elegiac or even dark. Rather, the focus is on what fun can be had without parental supervision. Sure, we see the kids stealing, begging, and lying to adults about their unwashed clothes and the lice in their hair. But the fun only really stops when adults intrude.
You are waiting for the party to be over, to see the grim reality of the situation dawn on the children, but it never really does. The movie doesn't have any real plot or trajectory. It's a true slice of life, which feels as much like a documentary as any movie I've seen.
I liked it.
The difference here, however, is that the tone is not elegiac or even dark. Rather, the focus is on what fun can be had without parental supervision. Sure, we see the kids stealing, begging, and lying to adults about their unwashed clothes and the lice in their hair. But the fun only really stops when adults intrude.
You are waiting for the party to be over, to see the grim reality of the situation dawn on the children, but it never really does. The movie doesn't have any real plot or trajectory. It's a true slice of life, which feels as much like a documentary as any movie I've seen.
I liked it.