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A group of childhood friends receives an unexpected invitation to relive their school days of the past at their now empty former school. Such is the premise of Eternal Playground, the debut feature from French directing duo Pablo Cotten and Joseph Rozé.

Shot in a warm, nostalgia-inducing 16mm format, the film sees music teacher Gaspard covertly gather five of his former classmates—Adel, Esther, Lou, Anthony, and Alma—within the abandoned walls of their Parisian high school. There, over the course of a summer, the old friends will rekindle fond memories from their own schooldays together, all while grappling with how both friendship and life itself can change with time.

Under the film’s seemingly whimsical surface, viewers discover a bittersweet meditation on loss, longing, and the inevitable pressures of adulthood. We learn Gaspard’s invitation is as much an homage to the desire for childhood simplicity as it is...

The melancholy, fable-like French drama “Eternal Playground” has a glowing warmth from its very first moments. That comes from the open beaming face of its lead actor, Andranic Manet. He plays Gaspard, a young music teacher in Paris who’s grieving the death of his twin sister. As he wishes his students a good summer on the last day of school, the actor’s face registers the promise and possibility that may come while adding a bittersweet tinge of what may never be regained, setting the tone for co-directors Pablo Cotten and Joseph Rozé’s story of friendship and growing up.

Soon after, Gaspard’s five best friends arrive to spend a few days with him in the empty school building. They all used to be students there and have come together to honor Gapsrd’s sister Louise, whose last wish was for all of them to gather and reclaim the fun,...