MovieChat Forums > Jeux interdits (1952) Discussion > Alternate ending translation..long shot ...

Alternate ending translation..long shot I know

posted 20 years ago by scottd99
12 replies | jump to latest

I just bought this dvd and was wondering if anyone can translate the alternate ending. I know enough French to understand the alternate beginning but had trouble figuring out the ending. This dvd does have subtitles but for some reason there are no subtitles to the special features. I don't need a word for word translation just a basic summary of what was said. I assume that Paulette didn't like the end of the story and Michel added in his own ending to make her happy, but then Paulette has some dialog before the scene ends that I can't understand. Thanks in advance to anyone that has the dvd and actually speaks enough French to figure this out for me.

[–] ivana2804 19 years ago

Excuse me if this is supposed to be common knowledge., but I've seen this movie several times on TV and in cinemas and I have no idea about the DVD. What alternate ending are you talking about? I've never heard about it before.

[–] scottd99 19 years ago

The DVD I bought off of ebay had a variety of special features. A couple of them were the alternate beginning and the alternate ending. If you haven't seen this you are not missing too much. I like the alternate ending but its only about 4-5 minutes long. Apparently people complained about how sad the movie was and how it ended so a alternate ending was made available. In this ending the two kids actually find each other and live happily ever after. I like the original movie ending and had no complaints with how sad it is but it was nice to see this ending as well.

[–] Kenn-15 18 years ago

I see your email is more than a year old, so I don't know if you are still looking for an answer. But in the alternative ending (which, as I understand it was NEVER put in any release, nor was the alternative opening) -- the girl (which is not Paulette) hates the end of the story, slams the book shut, and the boy (which is not Michel) pretends that it isn't the end of the story, and says that Paulette DOES find Michel once again and that they live together in a safe place. The girl then suggests to the boy that they invite Paulette and Michel to come live on the island there with them, and the boy says something along the lines of "that's a great idea, the island is big enough for four people, not just two." And the girl says, "yes, we can squeeze and make enough room. Tell them to come." The boy gives the girl a kiss and off they walk.

[–] Capeman 18 years ago

And the boy said, "I'll write to them."

[–] scottd99 18 years ago

Thanks Kenn!

[–] Gregoire-2 18 years ago

The alternate opening and ending are a complete and total disaster and would have really taken the edge off of a beautiful story.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] neil57 16 years ago

They sound horrible - I'm glad I never saw them.

[–] tuttletale88 15 years ago

I agree, the alternate ending does take away from the meaningful tragedy. When I saw it for the first time just a couple of days ago, I was heartbroken at the end, but seeing the alternate opening/closing is just a quick fix that almost trivializes the pain the characters went through. I loved this film, despite (or perhaps because of) the way it made my emotions go from one end of the scale to the other.

[–] svilrada 15 years ago

I saw the original in an old-fashioned movie house years ago. The movie is perfect and I wouldn't want to see it with any alternate beginnning or ending.

[–] scarletminded 14 years ago

Though I don't like quick fix endings, I did hope since the little girl took the boy's name, that they would find each other someday.

[–] HarlowMGM 11 years ago

I've never knew of an alternate ending being shot however it does not appear to have been used in any release of the film. I think it might have been filmed only as a lighter ending in case the film distributor rejected the original as too sad but then French films did not require the "happy ending" that many American film producers of the time demanded.

Incidentally, the film's ending is not the same as the one in the book this is based on, Les Jeux Inconnus by Francois Boyer. In the book, Michel and Paulette are still at their forbidden games when Michel decides to climb a church belfry to snitch the stone cross atop the edifice. He falls with the cross coming down also on to him, crushing him to death. The screenwriters decided to change it to a less melodramatic but just as traumatic ending, and one that in many ways was more in keeping with the story's theme.