"L'enfant sauvage" is about a child that grew up in the forest and was discovered when he was about 10 years old. Dr Jean Itard (played by Truffaut himself) takes an interest in the child and tries to educate him. Of course communication and language comes all but natural to such a child and the education turns out to be a struggle.
The film made me think of "The miracle worker" (1962, Arthur Penn). In this film the main character is a deaf mute girl. Of course that is something different than a child that grew up in the wild. Questions of nurture versus nature are absent in "The miracle worker". The struggle to reach a certain level of communication with the child is however the same.
"The miracle worker" is based on the real story of Helen Keller (1880 - 1968). It has a happy ending. "L'enfant sauvage" is also based on a real story, this time of Victor of Aveyron (1790 - 1828). The film has an open end. Real life had a tragic end. Victor would never learn to talk.
The film made me think of "The miracle worker" (1962, Arthur Penn). In this film the main character is a deaf mute girl. Of course that is something different than a child that grew up in the wild. Questions of nurture versus nature are absent in "The miracle worker". The struggle to reach a certain level of communication with the child is however the same.
"The miracle worker" is based on the real story of Helen Keller (1880 - 1968). It has a happy ending. "L'enfant sauvage" is also based on a real story, this time of Victor of Aveyron (1790 - 1828). The film has an open end. Real life had a tragic end. Victor would never learn to talk.