The Boys of Paul Street

Zoltán Fábri's 1969 film adapts Ferenc Molnár's classic novel. In Budapest two groups of boys face off over ownership of a vacant lot. One side uses it as their ground, the other wants to take it, and the conflict is conducted with military order, ranks, flags and rules. The film does not make the game charming: the order the boys build is a scaled-down version of the adult world's logic of war, and the consequences turn out to be real. The story of little Nemecsek is among the best known passages in Hungarian literature and carries the film's emotional weight. It was shot in English and nominated for the Academy Award for best foreign language film. Who it's for: viewers who like classic adaptations about childhood and Eastern European cinema. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a children's film to end happily; the closing is quite hard.