Au revoir les enfants (French pronunciation: [o ʁə.vwaʁ le zɑ̃.fɑ̃], meaning "Goodbye, Children") is an autobiographical 1987 film written, produced, and directed by Louis Malle.

[1] It is based on the actions of Père Jacques, a French priest and headmaster who attempted to shelter Jewish children during the Holocaust.

Saddened to be returning to the monotony of boarding school, Julien's classes seem uneventful until Père Jean, the headmaster, introduces three new pupils.

Père Jean, a compassionate, sacrificing priest at the school, had agreed to grant secret asylum to hunted Jews.

Although Père Jean is visibly distressed by the injustice, he fires Joseph but does not expel the students for fear of offending their wealthy, influential parents.

As the students are lined up in the school courtyard, a Gestapo officer denounces Père Jean's actions and calls French people weak and undisciplined.

The film is based on events in the childhood of the director, Louis Malle, who at age 11 was attending a Roman Catholic boarding school near Fontainebleau.

Forty years later, Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, granted Père Jacques the title of Righteous Among the Nations.

[3][4][5][6] Au Revoir, les Enfants has an approval rating of 97% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 37 reviews, and an average rating of 9.1/10, with the consensus: "Louis Malle's autobiographical tale of a childhood spent in a WWII boarding school is a beautifully realized portrait of friendship and youth.

"[7] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 88 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".