Klasseturen

Som titlen antyder handler filmen om skiskoletur op i de franske Alper. Den 12 årige hovedperson, Nicolas, kommer frem senere end de andre, fordi hans tilsyneladende overbeskyttende far har insisteret på selv at køre ham derop. Faderen, der er handelsrejsende i kirurgiske redskaber, tager af sted igen, men han glemmer at sætte drengens kuffert af, så Nicolas bliver tvunget til låne tøj af de andre, hvilket er en ekstra belastning for den utilpassede dreng, der af og til tisser i sengen. Han udvikler nogle vildt forvrængede mareridt, som man i flash backs ser at faderen heller ikke er uden skyld i. Da en dreng i nabolaget meldes savnet, må Nicolas indse at hans mareridt bunder i en helt reel - og aldeles velbegrundet - frygt.

Instruktøren Claude Miller har altid interesseret for psykologiske problemstillinger i den modsætningsfyldte ungdom, som f.eks. i "Piger på spil" fra 1985 og "Den lille tyvetøs" fra 1988. Her er det mere den traumatiserede barndom det gælder og tragedien nærmer sig umærkeligt, men sikkert i det klaustrofobiske rum, som uafvendeligt bliver Nicolas'.

A film about a school class who go skiing in the French Alps. The principal part is played by 12-year-old Nicolas, who arrives later than his classmates because his overprotective father insisted on taking him to the place in his own car. When the father leaves he forgets to unload his son's suitcase, so Nicolas has to borrow clothes from the others, which is an enormous strain on the maladjusted boy, who even wets his bed. - He has some horrible nightmares, and it appears clearly in some flashbacks that the father plays an important part in this respect. - When a young boy from the neighbourhood is reported missing a few days later, Nicolas realizes that his nightmares are based on real, well-founded fear.

The director, Claude Miller, has always taken an interest in mental disturbance in adolescence, e.g. in "Girls at Work" from 1985 and "The Little Thievish Girl" from 1988.

"The Class Trip" focuses on the traumas of childhood, e.g. the claustrophobic world of Nicolas' mind, and develops imperceptivity into the inevitable tragedy.

France 1998 Running time: 95 min.