War of the Buttons

Synopsis: The school boys of two villages in France are fighting. Their trophy are the buttons they will snatch from the enemy. This fight will bring those kids to everlasting friendship...eventually.
Genre: Comedy, Family
Director(s): Yves Robert
Production: Comet Films
  1 win.
 
IMDB:
7.5
Year:
1962
90 min
409 Views


THE WAR OF THE BUTTONS

WITH A BUNCH OF KIDS

(and their parents...)

Sir! Would you like to buy stamps

to help people with tuberculosis?

Help fight

people with tuberculosis!

It's for cancer!

You boys from Longeverne

aren't very quick.

The boys from Velrans already

hit me for two books of stamps.

And that was at least an hour ago.

Two? Why did you buy from them

since you are from Longevernes?

It's because the sick can't wait.

You don't mess around

with sickness, you know?

Watch out!

Everything's fine

as long as you're healthy.

But when you're sick...

You don't mess around

with sickness.

Everything's fine

as long as you're healthy.

But when your health goes, you

can't mess around with sickness.

Which one do we attack?

The priest!

He can't turn us down. Father!

- Would you like some stamps?

- It's for a good cause!

Darn it!

He's already got some, too!

On top of that,

he made us miss Nestor.

Let's run after him!

He has to walk his bike uphill.

How dare you

try selling me stamps?

I'll show you

what I think of that!

Hey, you jerks from Velrans!

He's our mailman, not yours.

We can forget about the priest,

but Nestor belongs to us.

You can't sell him stamps.

Nestor? From Longeverne?

He belongs to all of France.

- That's right! Nobody owns him.

- Go ahead, call us jerks again.

- Jerks! Jerks!

- Thieves! Mailman stealers!

You people from Longeverne

have soft balls!

What does that mean?

Everyone from Longeverne

has soft balls!

Beat it!

Get lost, losers!

I'm gonna tell--

I'm gonna tell Lebraque.

Guys, the first bell's ringing!

I thought he said "snowballs."

- Hi, Gibus.

- Hi.

I knew I shouldn't have went.

- What happened?

- Some Velrans jerks ambushed us.

- They pelted us with stones.

- Then they said we were snowballs.

- They didn't call us that.

- So what did they call us?

What names? What names?

Well, we didn't really understand.

- Let's go ask Lebraque.

- Yeah!

What names? What names? Tell me!

Stamp sale to raise funds

for the fight against tuberculosis.

Here come the Gibus brothers.

What happened?

What do you want?

So... what do you want?

Sir, are there any bad words

with "soft" in them?

You're asking me that?

I don't know any bad words.

My eye!

Come on, what's the baddest

bad word that has "soft" in it?

"Balls," we know, everybody's

got them. But why "soft"?

We don't care, but we must

find out if it's nasty.

Guys!

Even the teacher

doesn't know what it is.

- You moron! You told him?

- Yeah, but not to his face.

Hey, you're smart, little Gibus.

Move out of my way.

Hey, Gaston, come here.

- Where's your father?

- Over there.

Go call your father "soft balls."

- He'll give you some candy.

- Will I have to give it to you?

It's okay, you can keep it.

Go, and don't forget!

Soft balls, soft balls, soft balls.

Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!

All right, settle down.

- Finished counting, Lacrique?

- Yes, sir, it's a piece of cake.

Hey, Camus, did he come out yet?

- No.

Groucoulard:
none sold. Tintin:

none sold. Camus: one sold.

- That will make the count uneven.

- Boulon--

Here he comes!

Back in your seats everyone.

Camus, sit down!

Lebraque!

Tonight, we'll show the Velrans...

if we have soft balls.

- Come on, guys.

- We've been running pretty fast.

- Did you bring the chalk?

- I've got my pockets full of it.

Guys, guys! Wait for me!

Sorry, my parents

won't let me go without him.

You really look stupid. Let's go.

Why don't we take the road?

- The rabbits' way is faster.

- No way, we'll tear our pants.

Just do like everyone else

I'm the chief.

I didn't say I wasn't coming.

But to have chiefs,

you need a vote.

You must be kidding.

- Who knows about ranks?

- Me! Captain. That's a big one.

I know a guy who's a sergeant. He's

smart. He finished the 7th grade.

Yes, but the best is being

a first class soldier.

So, that means that there are

second class soldiers...

- and also "freight class" soldiers.

- Do we vote or choose our rank?

Let's choose. I'll

be a second class colonel.

Better yet, a locomotive colonel

or a luggage wagon colonel.

- You're really starting to bug us.

- But we need to have chiefs.

You know, in real life, the chief

is the one with the biggest weenie.

Just look at dogs... and goats...

and rams... and foxes.

It's the same everywhere.

- Come on, take off your shoes.

- What are we gonna do?

You'll see. Shh!

You go first.

Who? Me?

He won't pay attention to a kid

carrying a milk can.

He'll go back inside.

- What am I gonna tell him?

- Nothing, just walk past him.

Are you a colonel or what?

So, just follow the orders.

I knew I shouldn't have went.

Are you the one who's making

the dogs bark?

My brother! What are we gonna do?

Come, my little one.

Sit here.

- Has the cat got your tongue?

- He must be in shock.

You gave him such a scare.

You're always yelling.

- I didn't yell, I spoke.

- You should have shut your mouth.

Hello, little guy.

If I shut up, he won't talk.

You scared him.

Let's give him a little nip.

We can't leave him like that.

Soft balls.

A little shot of calvados

never hurt anyone.

That will make you run

like a rabbit, you'll see.

- Yeah.

- That's it.

Soft balls.

- He's at the Laztecs.

- We've got to go.

Go watch the corner.

Give me the chalk.

Stay with me, Lacrique, in case

I spell something the wrong way.

Are you feeling better?

What's he saying?

- What are you saying?

- I... I spilled my milk.

He's just upset about his milk.

It's only a half gallon of milk.

We'll give you some.

We'll give you some.

- Henri, go fill his can.

- What?

I'm doing my homework.

- I told you to go get him milk.

- I'm not at his service.

Well, we'll see about that.

Go now.

All right. Okay.

Go ahead, make even more noise.

- It was good.

- You like it, huh?

Put an "S" there.

- Watch out, here comes a car.

- Done.

ALL THE VELRANS ARE CREEPS

- We showed them.

- Yeah, and good luck erasing it!

My little brother!

I lost him.

Good night, my good people.

My pants are bursting

at the seams

He learns fast, uh?

He's drunk as a skunk.

- Hey, little Gibus!

- He must've emptied their cellar.

My pants are bursting

at the seams

If it keeps going

you're gonna see my--

Quiet. We're fishing.

Your umbrella, little Gibus.

Quickly.

Give me the worms.

- Is that enough?

- Yeah.

Look, I can see myself.

Do the fish see the real me...

- or do they see me like this?

- Why do you care?

Because, if they see me like this,

it must scare them to death.

- The Velrans!

- Show yourselves!

Creeps, losers, pigs.

Here I am.

You don't need to scream, fartface.

- Fartface yourself.

- Come on, get over here.

We don't need to get closer,

you smell rotten from here.

- Your sister is--

- My sister pees on your head.

Something wrong with that?

Your parents

can't pay their mortgage!

Mortgage yourself!

Are you gonna

come fight us or what?

Do you think you're gonna get us?

Wait 'til we get to you tomorrow,

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Louis Pergaud

Louis Pergaud (22 January 1882 – 8 April 1915) was a French writer and soldier, whose principal works were known as "Animal Stories" due to his featuring animals of the Franche-Comté in lead roles. His most notable work was the novel La Guerre des boutons (1912) (English: The War of the Buttons). It has been reprinted more than 30 times, and is included on the French high-school curriculum.A schoolteacher by profession, Pergaud came into conflict with Roman Catholic authorities over the implementation of the Third French Republic's separation of Church and State enacted in 1905. In 1907 Pergaud chose to move to Paris to pursue his literary career. Pergaud's prose works are often considered to reflect the influences of Realist, Decadent and Symbolist movements. He was killed at age 33 in April 1915, by French fire while in a field hospital behind German lines; he was serving with the French Army near Marchéville-en-Woëvre during the First World War. The War of the Buttons has been adapted five times as a film, four times in French productions and once in an Irish one. It was adapted most recently in France in two films released the same week in September 2011. Both were set during the twentieth century. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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