It’s been awhile since I’ve been so touched by a movie as I have by Sarah’s Key. This movie portrays the story of the Vel d’Hiv roundup in Paris in 1942. This was an event in which French police arrested and held over 13,000 victims at the Velodrome d’Hiver….victims were held in inhumane conditions until they were shipped off to an internment camp, 
and eventually taken to the notorious and deadly Auschwitz for extermination (a word that greatly bothers me when referring to human life).
The story follows a reporter named Julia Jarmond (played by Kristin Scott Thomas) who has been assigned to write an article about the Vel d’Hiv. What Julia doesn’t know, until digging a little deeper, is that the apartment she and her husband are renovating (one that’s been in his family since the Vel d’Hiv) once belonged to the Starzynski family. Wladyslaw and Rywka Starzynski, along with their two children, Sarah and Michel, lived in this apartment until one morning when the dreaded, ominous knock came at their door. Sarah quickly hid Michel in a hidden closet, promising him she would come back for him….not knowing that life was about to forever change. She took with her and kept safe the key to release her brother.
As I watched Sarah and her parents being herded off to the Velodrome, surviving the raging heat with no water, no facilities, no beds….I hoped that they would somehow be released. I think that Sarah’s mother, in leaving little Michel behind, had the same secret hope that they would be released and all would be well….even though down deep, she probably knew what was going to happen. Release was not to be.
They were taken to an internment camp where Sarah and her mother were separated from her father. Eventually, Sarah was jerked away from even her mother, as her mother was shipped off to Auschwitz. (Just a sidenote: Watching some of the bonus footage, we listened as the actors told how difficult it was to film some of these scenes, including the scene in which the children were taken away from their mothers….just watching it, I could not imagine anyone ever tearing me away from my own children….) Sarah was quite ill for several days, but when she woke up all she could think of was Michel and how she must escape to rescue him. A French officer actually helped Sarah and a friend to sneak under the barbed wire and escape…. (yet another very emotional scene as we watched this French officer risk everything to do the right thing, to show mercy to 2 young innocents); eventually, Sarah was able to find an older couple who took her in, a couple who would become her second family. Sarah’s story doesn’t end here, though….remember, she’s on a mission to save her brother’s life.
The movie goes back and forth between Sarah’s story and that of Julia’s. Julia begins to unravel the pieces of this mystery, and she realizes that Sarah may have survived. The mystery runs deep, though, with family ties that she could not have begun to imagine. On her journey, Julia begins to make a life transformation of her own. While I want to tell you more about the movie….and I could give a spoiler alert….I’m just going to recommend that you watch the movie to see what happens for yourself. You will cry; in fact, the tears will be rolling down your face at times throughout the film. Portions of the movie are in French (with captions), so it feels very authentic and real. This movie has history, substance, action, emotions….it truly is a hidden gem that should not be missed.
You can purchase Sarah’s Key on Amazon. You can also learn more about the movie on the official movie website. I myself now want to read the book.
(Disclosure: I received no compensation for this post, though I do link to the movie on Amazon, per my Amazon Associate account. All views/opinions are solely my own, as I honestly just want to share a must-see movie with you, my readers.)
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