Shot entirely from the point of view of the six year old sister, the film attains its power from the ability of the audience to see her learn the cruelty of the school yard and the inaccessibility of the adults, no matter how sympathetic they are. In its quiet way, PLAYGROUND reveals how power relationships shape and isolate human beings.

This film shows the beauty of simplicity in story writing, nonetheless covered in a coating of an intense deep rollercoaster of thoughts and emotions. Many can relate to its topic of bullying. Where lay the boundaries of friendship, loyalty, protection, siblingship. A story that feels realistic and understandable in every way. The entire film is happening at just one location, the playground (school). The amazing acting and realistic dialogue make it feel like you are watching a documentary instead of a feature film. A well deserved Oscar!

I am an ex-teacher in 🇬🇧, and I have to say…. Superb! Bravo!!

I just got tired of looking at the adorable child's face.

I think this is our first Belgian film - in fact it even might be our first Belgian anything! I know this exists but that's as far as it goes for me - I'm assuming at least some of it is set in a playground. Yup - a playground is definitely involved. We basically follow Nora around as she starts school - unsure at first, but slowly gaining confidence and friends as she finds her feet. Unfortunately, her older brother Abel isn't having a great time of it with bullies and Nora's sense of injustice is fired up. But her best efforts to fix things, unsurprisingly, don't have the desired effect. It's all far too believable and at times you do despair, but it does manage to come up with a good ending which doesn't tie things up nicely but does offer some hope. The film REALLY focuses on Nora so it's going to live or die on Maya Vanderbeque's performance and, as The Guardian says, she is indeed brilliant in this - it would be an impressive performance at any age and she absolutely nails it. Günter Duret is also good as Abel (her brother) in a pretty unflattering role, with him and Maya displaying many aspects of a sibling relationship well. Also worth of a mention are Karim Leklou as her dad (who Wikipedia tells me is named Finnegan for no obvious reason) and Laura Verlinden as Mme Agnes (her teacher) who portray different aspects of adult helplessness - but my major take away was that her dad really should have taught her to tie her laces before she went to school! The film captures the randomness and unfairness of bullying accurately and the (sometimes unintentional) cruelty of children, but also the innocence and joy of play. It's also absolutely heartbreaking at times - from the perspective of the children, the parents and the teachers because there's obviously no easy answer to these things. And, as The Guardian says, it is indeed a short, intense film - 72 minutes! The film's direction (Laura Wandel, with her debut) is well thought out with most of the film taking place at Nora's level which is very effective (we either only see the waistline of adults or they have to bend down to join the shot) and the use of sound is also impressive with random school noises contrasting well with some very effective silence or whispers. It's also interesting that French title is "a world" because it really gives you impression that school is Nora's world. I really liked this film - it's well put together and really pulls at your emotions with a stunning central performance (and there's no absolutely no danger of it outstaying its welcome). So it's a strong recommendation from me - at time of writing it's available to rent in all the usual places.

Amazing acting from the little girl. The teachers weren’t much help. Even the teacher that was meant to be the nice one - really wasn’t. The father has the most to answer for. You would have to know something is up if your kids favourite ice cream is vanilla 🙄

This is quite a powerful film, even quietly devastating in a way, about the impact and implications of childhood bullying. Its hard not to feel for both Nora and her dad, as well as her brother Abel. Imagining myself in Nora's shoes, I'm not sure what I'd do differently. It seemed very realistic and its certainly insightful. A good film for starting a discussion about school bullying, I'd recommend this, yes.

Childhood not unlike jungle.

Seems I'm in disagreement with EVERYONE who's reviewed this one, but I found it a 72 min. misery fest! What a godawful bunch of kids, lousy, mouse-like teachers and principal, and unlike any experience I had at any of the several schools I went to. I keep coming across these bullying movies where kids are put through hell over and over again, with teachers doing little if anything. How the hell do kids end up in places like juvie if teachers/principals really do next to nothing to protect their students? This was almost as constant a series of utterly miserable, awful events happening to the main character(s) as in "House of Hummingbird". I mean, jeez, let a little light in, Wandel! Just felt like overkill. One second Nora's talking with her friends, who seem like real friends; sweet, caring, laughing. The next, they're acting just like the bullies in tearing her brother down with just horrible, heartless comments. Not too genuine, imo. 1hr. 12 min. felt like two hours at least. 2 stars

As disturbing as it is empathetic, it remains all too true unfortunately in this continuing age despite thinking people can learn.

A brilliant film debut from Laura Wandel in this Belgium drama about a brother being bullied by a group of kids at school, only to have his sister who is also at the school come to his aid. The film is shot from a child's perspective which makes it feel authentic. The adults are in the background, which puts the kids front and center. There are some VERY disturbing scenes, but they are totally necessary to the totality of the feature. The two main child actors, Maya Vanderbeque and Günter Duret are extraordinary. They have a chemistry that is, frankly, remarkable. The film is shot in such a way, that despite not a lot of words on the page, the visuals are enough. It is just over an hour, but at times it's such a hard watch you may have to hit the pause button. Final Score: 9/10

Absolutely a 5 star great movie!! Finally!

It's fantastic. No doubt. The filming at the level of a 5-6 year old is brilliant. But it is so painful to watch. And that is part of its brilliance.

Very moving but at the same time unrelenting and one dimensional.