This Special Friendship

This Special Friendship (original title Les Amitiés particulières), directed by Jean Delannoy and adapted from Roger Peyrefitte's novel of the same name, follows a close friendship between two boys at a Catholic boarding school that the priests treat as sinful and punish. The film had its world premiere at the 25th Venice Film Festival on August 29, 1964, competing for the Golden Lion, though it did not win (that year's prize went to Michelangelo Antonioni's Red Desert). The film wasn't shown in the US with English subtitles until 1967, three years after its French premiere. Upon release, writer François Mauriac condemned the film in Le Figaro, and Peyrefitte responded with a sharp open letter to Mauriac in Arts magazine. Who it's for: anyone curious about a French drama that competed at Venice's main competition and sparked a bitter public dispute between two writers after its release, controversial for its era. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a smoothly and quickly distributed film, since this one faced years of delay reaching international audiences.