La maison des bois(2026)

Release Date: Apr 22, 2026 | Limited

Three young boys from Paris are sent to live with a gamekeeper's family in a rural village north of the capital during the First World War. At the center is ten-year-old Hervé, whose father is at the front and whose mother has left him. As the household settles into its daily rhythms, the distant rumble of war grows harder to ignore. A quiet story about belonging, childhood, and the cost of conflict on ordinary lives.

Releases

Original Release | Apr 22, 2026 | Opens in 09days

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Director & Top Cast

Pierre Doris
Albert Picard

Jacqueline Dufranne
Jeanne Picard

Agathe Natanson
Marguerite Picard

Hervé Lévy
Hervé Gardy, Hervé Garbi

Alexandre Rignault
Birot

Henri Saulquin
Le bedeau

Michel Terrazon

Michel Latour

Albert Martinez

Bébert Pouilly

Fernand Gravey

Le marquis de Fresnoy

Jean Mauvais

Mahu, le cafetier

Albert Michel

Cottin

Ovila Légaré

Le curé

Marie-Christine Boulard

Mme Pouilly

Micha Bayard

Mme Latour

Philippe André

Jacques

Henri Puff

Marcel Picard

Charles Mallone

Le lieutenant

Michel Tugot-Doris

Le sergent

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Mono

Aspect Ratio: 4:3

Other Details

Country of Origin: France,Italy

Language: French,Latin,German

Summaries

Plot Summary

La Maison des Bois is a seven-episode French television drama produced for ORTF in 1971, directed by Maurice Pialat and written by René Wheeler, Pialat, Arlette Langmann, and Yves Laumet. Set in a village north of Paris during World War I, the series follows three displaced Parisian boys taken in by a gamekeeper and his wife. The central figure is Hervé (Hervé Lévy), a ten-year-old navigating the warmth of his surrogate home against the backdrop of a war pulling everyone around him apart. The ensemble cast includes Pierre Doris and Jacqueline Dufranne as the Picard couple, with Agathe Natanson and Fernand Gravey in supporting roles. The screenplay was produced with cinematography by Roger Duculot, editing by Arlette Langmann and Martine Giordano, and music sourced from Maurice Ravel, J.S. Bach, and Henri Duparc. The series was co-produced with Radiotelevisione Italiana and released on DVD by Gaumont in 2005. A 4K restoration by Janus Films received its first-ever U.S. theatrical release at the Film at Lincoln Center. Core themes include childhood, displacement, community, and the quiet ways war reshapes domestic life. The series is for viewers drawn to intimate, observational drama rooted in historical France.

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Fun Facts

La maison des bois (1971/2026) chronicles a French countryside family during World War I, as game warden Albert Picard (Pierre Doris) and wife Jeanne (Jacqueline Dufranne) shelter three orphaned Parisian boys—including soulful Hervé (Hervé Lévy)—while raising teens Marcel and Marguerite amid war's hardships, longing, and resilience.