Sarah's
Key is probably one of the best, if not the best, films I've
seen this year. The story is both emotional and historical as I was able to
watch the film and go away feeling like I'd actually learned something. This
movie is not at all like a documentary, although it does center on the Vel
d'Hiv roundup in Paris during World War II. This particular incident in French
history isn't well known and is generally not in a large number of historical
texts on the Holocaust. As a
result this film and the fictitious book on which it is based tell an important
story that all should hear.
Sarah's Key has two distinct storylines
that slowly merge into one that help keep the film interesting. One follows a
Jewish girl, Sarah, as she survives the roundup and deportation to an outlying
camp and struggles to escape from the French police to save her brother. The
other follows an American ex-pat journalist 60 years after the roundup as she
tries to find out what happened to the Jewish family who lived in an apartment
owned by her husband's family.
Nothing in this film is superfluous. Every scene has a purpose in the overall
plot or has some emotional aspect to it that is key to the main thrust of the film.
The soundtrack is beautiful and definitely helps set the tone for the emotional
impact that the story will have on you. The acting is amazing. Mélusine Mayance, the
little girl who plays Sarah, can be so convincingly heartbroken and sad it's a
little scary. All of the characters are believably portrayed, which gives the
film a strong sense of authenticity.
The film is predominantly a mix of English and French, which seems natural and
is, mostly, easy to follow. Sarah's Key
is based off of an excellent book by the same title, and the movie remains
fairly true to its counterpart. This film exemplifies that trying to find the
truth and then living with the aftermath of its knowledge can be detrimental to
everyone involved.
