War of the ButtonsMovie Reviews

Avg. Critic Score: 40 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

OK for kids 12+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

75

Washington Post | Michael O'Sullivan
Moving without being melodramatic, War of the Buttons is a tale of the worst -- and the best -- that people of all ages are capable of. Read full review
60

NPR | Ella Taylor
War of the Buttons deftly folds France's unsavory collusions into a rather more rousing tale of resistance. I don't doubt that some of these heroics happened. But the way they're framed conveniently takes the edge off saying sorry. Read full review
50

San Francisco Chronicle | Amy Biancolli
To be fair, War of the Buttons is a film with a modest agenda. It does not attempt to provide a complete or even vaguely realistic depiction of the rural French resistance in the endgame to World War II. Instead, it provides a fable. Read full review
50

Boston Globe | Tom Russo
But when there's such a lighthearted, boys-at-play manner about the story's established aspects, it creates an odd disconnect from the World War II tolerance lessons that the filmmakers seek to add. War and persecution are bad, kids - except when it's all in good fun. Read full review
50

Portland Oregonian | Marc Mohan
War of the Buttons means well. But ultimately there's only marginally more edge to this treatment of World War II than there is to the average episode of "Hogan's Heroes." Read full review
50

St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Joe Williams
War of the Buttons is handsomely crafted and it's touting tolerance, but as long as we open the gates to the Trojan horse of historical simplification, there's a danger that Hollywood could attack us with "The Goonies Go to the Gulag." Be vigilant! Read full review
40

Arizona Republic |
For a movie that aspires to be heartwarming, it sure does inspire a lot of eye rolling. Read full review
25

New York Post | Kyle Smith
The parallels between the kids' war and the real one are made far too obvious by Christophe Barratier, who made the equally treacly "The Chorus" and infests the movie with nonstop musical goo. Read full review
20

Time Out New York |
That War of the Buttons shows no insight into how a nation's will could be so easily subdued is disappointing; that it shows no curiosity on the subject is inexcusable. Read full review
12

Slant Magazine |
By the time the drama is wrapped up with a bow and every child has learned a valuable life lesson, even the gap-toothed little tyke there solely for comic relief has begun to grate. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for War of the Buttons on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says OK for kids 12+ WWII drama is overly cute but has worthy lessons for tweens.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that War of the Buttons is an adaptation of a famous French novel about a group of neighboring cliques of boys who engage in a full-scale "war" against one another (success is measured by how many buttons they steal from their enemies). The action is set during World War II -- specifically, the French Occupation -- and includes some moments of cruelty and violence, like when a Jewish family is dragged away from their home by collaborator police officers and when a group of kids lights their nemeses' wooden clubhouse aflame. Kids also get into fistfights with each other and even take turns hitting a "traitor." On the other hand, the kids learn their lesson and work together to save a Jewish teen hidden among them. Young characters and adults both display affection (kissing); there's some subtitled swearing, including "f--k" and "s--t." Adults drink and smoke.

Families can talk about War of the Buttons' messages. How does it depict war/conflict? Are there other means of resolving issues?
How did the kids' war mirror the issues and themes of WWII? What does Violette mean when she says Lebrac is acting like a Nazi?
Some critics have said that War of the Buttons glosses over some of the grittier subject matter of the war, deportations, and a girl in hiding far from her family. Do you agree? Does that matter for this story?
What do Lebrac and Violette teach each other about tolerance and friendship?

The good stuff

Positive messages: On the one hand, War of the Buttons promotes tolerance and teamwork, but on the other, it advocates for war. In the end, the boys learn that having a mutual enemy (in this case, the collaborators) is a point of commonality -- and they help each other despite many weeks of discord. Lebrac also discovers the joy of reading -- as long it has to do with battle strategies -- and Violette realizes that there's more to "country" folk than she previously thought. Lebrac also finds out that people he thought were cowards are actually working for the Resistance.
Positive role models: Simone hides a Jewish girl despite the penalty for doing so. An entire town comes together to give Simone and Violette a chance to escape. Lebrac learns about the value of reading and tells Violette it doesn't matter that she's Jewish, he likes her just the same. And Violette decides she doesn't care whether Lebrac is a country boy, she likes him just the same.

What to watch for

Violence: The "war" between the neighboring factions of boys gets pretty brutal -- kids fight each other with sticks and slingshots and definitely get in one another's faces, leaving bruises. A father is known for giving his son the belt. A clique of friends sets fire to their nemeses' clubhouse. A boy is hurt until he gives up his friends' location and is later beaten by his friends for betraying them. A Jewish family is dragged away menacingly; in another scene, a Frenchman goes off looking for a Jewish girl in hiding.
Sexy stuff: Young Lebrac and Violette have a sweet embrace and kiss on the cheeks before they're separated. Adult characters share a passionate kiss. Men in a bar make crude comments about Simone's reputation for being promiscuous. Lebrac and his friends joke about what it takes to get a girl to like them.
Language: Although the movie is spoken in French, there are several subtitled swear words, including "f--k," "s--t," and insults like "limp dick," "little brats," "big numbskulls," "picky asses," "bastards," "a--holes," and "coward."
Consumerism: Not an issue
Drinking, drugs and smoking: All of the adults drink (wine or hard liquor), and most smoke cigarettes, both of which are accurate for the movie's time period/setting.

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