zinema · movies · what age

Official US rating: PG-13. In France, zinema would say 9.

What it's about

Paris 1930. Paul has only ever had one and the same horizon: the high walls of the orphanage, an austere building in the Parisian working class suburbs. Entrusted to a joyful country woman, Célestine, and her husband, Borel, the rather stiff gamekeeper of a vast estate in Sologne, the city child, recalcitrant and stubborn, arrives in a mysterious and disturbing world, that of a sovereign and wild region. The huge forest, misty ponds, heaths, and fields all belong to the Count de la Fresnaye, an elderly taciturn man who lives alone in his manor.

Why 13

• The official rating, firstRated PG-13 in the US (parents strongly cautioned, some material may be inappropriate for children under 13). zinema never goes below the country's rating: it explains it.
  rule
• A child left on his ownA boy placed with strangers spends much of the film wondering whether anyone will come for him, and the camera keeps him alone in half light. Nothing harsh is shown, but the loneliness lasts a long time and small viewers feel it.
  shown
• Grief spoken, not shownDeath comes up often in what people say, including a loss that weighs on the whole household near the end, around the 1h33 mark. It stays in words and faces rather than in images, but it is the emotional center of the story.
  shown
• Poachers, gunshots, dark woodsKnives and rifles are handled, shots ring out around 1h28, and scuffles break out between the gamekeeper and the poachers. A long night in the forest, a fire, and several sudden loud moments can startle a younger child.
  shown
• Rough words from grown-upsThe adults swear the way country folk of 1930 do, about a dozen crude words across the film, plus wine at every table and cigarettes in most hands. It is period texture rather than glamour, but it is there.
  shown

What the movie brings

• It shows a child slowly learning to trust adults who are not his own, at his own pace.
• It teaches real attention to nature: tracks, seasons, silence, and why a forest is worth protecting.
• It lets a family talk about secrets adults keep and why they sometimes keep them.

Watching it together

See the facts

Death of a character●●● · shownmeasured

Jump scares●●● · shownmeasured

Long dark scenes, night, storm●●● · shownmeasured

Pace●●● · shownmeasured

A character in danger●●○ · saidmeasured

A weapon shown or used●●○ · shownmeasured

Abandonment, separation, confinement●●○ · shownmeasured

Alcohol●●○ · shownmeasured

Creature, monster, strong villain●●○ · shownmeasured

Cruelty, torture, abuse●●○ · saidmeasured

Disaster, destruction, war●●○ · shownmeasured

Fighting, brawls●●○ · shownmeasured

Frightening imagery●●○ · shownmeasured

Fugue, enfant parti seul●●○ · saidmeasured

Grief, sorrow●●○ · saidmeasured

Kissing, romantic gestures●●○ · shownmeasured

Mental distress, depression, anxiety●●○ · saidmeasured

Smoking●●○ · shownmeasured

Swearing●●○ · shownmeasured

Tense music or sound●●○ · shownmeasured

Density of dialogue●○○ · shownmeasured

Drugs●○○ · saidmeasured

Mockery, humiliation, bullying●○○ · saidmeasured

For the same age, on zinema

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians 9, 8 with a parent
• Star Wars: Skeleton Crew 9, 8 with a parent
• God Save the Tuche 9, 8 with a parent
• Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis 9, 8 with a parent

SearchAll guides

The latest guides

• Les Tuche 9, 8 with a parent
• Queen of Katwe 9, 8 with a parent
• Man on Wire 13
• Apollo 13 9, 8 with a parent

A zinema reading from September 27, 2026 · the whole movie, watched in full · the age by zinema's rules for the US and France, and a human reading · report an error · how this guide is made