We are in the mid 1950s, when the small streets in the lower parts of the city were teeming with little kids in short trousers. They all come together at their little corner of paradise: an indistinct space in the Marolles strewn with bottles and scrawny bushes trying to live. The sky clouds over and their paradise is about to cross the point of no return… At the foot of the Poelaert monster (the Palais de Justice), sharply dressed men along with construction workers roll out the plans. The little corner of paradise is barricaded, the homes are demolished, new walls are built up…
The resistance gets organized. Children, deprived of their playing field, step up to the plate… A war -Marollian kid style - is launched against the common enemy: the malicious architects.
First filmed without live sound, Le chantier des gosses had to wait about 15 years for sound. The filming occurred between 1956 and ’58. The sound was added later, and the premier showing was September 30, 1970 at the Palais des Congrès. The next year it went on television. However since, Jean Harlez’s film has disappeared. The tenacity of Nova was not expected - after having played it for a single showing in 2008, Nova is now showing it again for 7 weeks.
There will be many different showing times of Le chantier des gosses between Thursday, January 9 and Sunday, February 23 at Nova. Consult the program on the cinema’s site.
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