[3], The film alternates between Sarah (Mélusine Mayance) in 1942 and Julia (Kristin Scott Thomas) in 2009 who is researching Sarah's story. In February of 2009 France finally recognized its role in the deportation of 76,000 Jews to concentration camps during the war. Julia ultimately decides against an abortion, has a baby girl, divorces her husband and eventually moves with her daughters to New York City. The film was released in the US on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on 22 November 2011. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=sarahskey.htm, http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=11482, https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/sarahs-key.html, "Kristin Scott Thomas: 'Sarah's Key' To A Dark Past", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sarah%27s_Key&oldid=1016311433, Films featuring a Best Actress Lumières Award-winning performance, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 6 April 2021, at 14:11. The key to the cupboard is among the items handed to him by his father. When Sarah tries to escape with her friend Rachel, a sympathetic Paris police guard spots them. Sarah's Key is told from both the perspective of an 10-year-old girl whose family is rounded up during the Vel D'Hiv in France in 1942 and an American who presently lives in Paris. Sarah's Key (French: Elle s'appelait Sarah) is a 2010 French drama directed and co-written by Gilles Paquet-Brenner. Having previously done an article on the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup, Julia finds her interest piqued when she learns that the apartment came into her husband's family at about the time of the Roundup and she begins to investigate what happened 60 years earlier. In flashbacks, the story of Sarah (Melusine Mayance) is … TDR: No, there are cuts of course, but I approve of them and think that Gilles Paquet-Brenner did a good job with them. The adults are deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, leaving the children in the camp. WaH: This is your first book written in English. Sarah's Key is a historical fiction novel by Franco-British author Tatiana de Rosnay, first published in French as Elle s'appelait Sarah in September 2006. Sarah runs up to her apartment, knocking on the door furiously. She stops corresponding with the Dufaures when she gets married and has a son, William. In this book an innocent boy and his family are arrested an dbrought to numerous ghettos's and concentration camps. Julia, having given up hope of having another child after years of unsuccessful attempts to conceive, discovers she's pregnant. Despite knowing what they are and the associated danger, the Dufaures decide to help the girls. After the war, Sarah continues to live as a family member with the Dufaures and their two grandsons. ISBN-13: 9780312370848 Summary Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. The horrible events that happened in France during 1942 tend to make people today feel powerless, emotions of anger and rage. If I was using only the way the story was told, the unique historical elements, and Sarah’s story I would have given it at four or five., but since I struggled with Julia’s character and the ending I simply couldn’t give it more than a 3. TDR: Go with your gut instinct, if you don’t trust the director, don’t let him adapt your book! WaH: Julia is such an amazing character. WaH: What was your first reaction in seeing the film? But Sarah’s Key the film, based on the best-selling novel by Tatiana de Rosnay gives it to the French. Horrified by what she finds, she starts screaming hysterically. Everyone has their own opinion. I was so moved. TDR: I’m glad you think she is amazing! This is my first published book in English, but everything I had written between the age of 11 and 25 (unpublished) is in English. Némirovsky was a Jewish Ukrainian author who lived in Paris with her husband, Michel, and their two daughters, Denise and Élisabeth. The heartbreak is real, the love is true, and the need to find out how their two lives are connected made this one of my absolute favorites! After being separated from her parents at Beaune-la-Rolande, Sarah manages to escape. She and her fellow escapee, Rachel, end up staying at a farmhouse in Orléans. I have always been interested by how walls can talk. Her father-in-law tells Julia what he knows so she will quit prying. But I also knew it could not be a historical novel, it had to have a contemporary feel to it. Némirovsky immigrated to France as a teenager, when she and her family fled the violence of the Russian Revolution. Sarah’s Key Summary. WaH: What inspired you to write the book? [6] On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a "Certified Fresh" approval rating of 72% based on reviews from 116 critics. What made you do that with this book? I did have control, but I trusted him from the start. It seemed to be shrouded by taboo. Educates, Advocates, and Agitates for Gender Diversity and Inclusion in Hollywood and the Global Film Industry, In Her Voice: Women Directors Talk Directing, List of Databases for Women in the Film Industry, First-Time Female Filmmaker Contest Winners, Starz Aims to Increase Representation of Women Helmers with Alliance of Women Directors Partnership, Chloé Zhao Makes History at DGA Awards and BAFTAs with “Nomadland”, Rites and Wrongs of Passage: Crowdfunding Picks, A Message to the Women and Hollywood Community, Apply Now: Women and Hollywood Internship, Weekly Update for May 4: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You, Trailer Watch: Fact and Fiction Blur in Andrea Riseborough-Starrer “Nancy”. Sarah also is an invented character but many of my readers are convinced she existed. Rachel is dying, and when they call attention to themselves by calling in a doctor, a skeptical German officer asks them if they know anything about a second Jewish child. Sarah’s Key follows dual story lines of what happened to Sarah and her key in 1942 and Julia’s search, in 2009, for what truly happened in her new home. Sarah's little brother, Michel, is locked in a cupboard to await Sarah's return. WaH: How much historical accuracy is in it? There have been several generations of Holocaust films by now. The other story is Sarah’s, a ten-year-old Jewish girl living in Paris with her family during WWII. The position will begin on July 1, 2018 and end on December 23, 2018. The film has been critically well-received. Challenge/Book Summary: Book: Sarah’s Key … It is a story that is based around a real life event. So I started researching. I was born and raised in Nova Scotia, have lived in East Hants for the past 16 years and am now proud to be raising my family here. sarah’s key by tatiana de rosnay. It's an awkward fit and diminishes the impact of the earlier story. Later, everything is confirmed to William by his dying father, Richard, including Sarah's suicide. Since 2005 I have been a full time REALTOR®, a career choice I am passionate about and love doing. The film is an adaptation of the 2006 novel with the same title by Tatiana de Rosnay. It is explained to her son that her death was an accident. I don’t tend to like books about Nazi Europe – I don’t know why exactly, it’s just not a … Julia is amazed and happy for him, and has brought her young daughter along to the meeting. She rushes into her old room and unlocks the cupboard. TDR: I wrote this book ten years ago. TDR: My father is French, and my mother is British and I grew up in France, USA and UK, learning both languages at the same time. She locked her brother, Michel, in a cupboard, and the whole story follows her pursuit of saving him. The first plot follows the Starzynski family. And I went with his vision as it respected my book. That is where the Vél d’Hiv roundup took place on July 16th 1942. She takes a true historical event the “Vel’ d’Hiv roundup” of French Jews in Paris in July of 1942 and interweaves it with a contemporary fictional heroine Julia Jarmond, an American ex-pat living in Paris. Most of the films focus on the Nazis and the Germans. In the present, the French husband of journalist Julia (Kristin Scott Thomas) inherits the apartment of his grandparents (his elderly father was the boy who opened the door to Sarah in August 1942). I borrowed Sarah’s Key from a co-worker who insisted I read it, even though it’s not “my kind of book.” Man am I glad she did; if it weren’t for responsibilities (aka adulting) I would have finished it in a night. Movie Reviews Great Movies Collections TV/Streaming Features Chaz's Journal Interviews Reviews Past and present, cobbled together Roger Ebert July 27, 2011. He gives William Sarah's journals and notes, telling him Sarah immediately had William baptized right after his birth, fearing that "being Jewish" was a threat to him and explaining that "...we're all a product of our history." On 16 July 1942, French police raided the Starzynski apartment in Paris, arresting ten-year-old Sarah and her parents. Sarah Starzynski is one of the two main characters in Sarah's Key. Sarah's Key Tatiana de Rosnay, 2007 St. Martin's Press 320 pp. Copyright 2018 Women and Hollywood. Julia begins an obsessive quest to find any trace of Sarah, eventually learning of her life in Brooklyn and finally locating William in Italy. Newsletters are sent on Fridays at noon EST. is not mine. The second plot follows Julia Jarmond, an American j… Rosnay gives it to the French first time we meet her in the area, schools market. Was an accident directed, and written films and news Haunting in based! About this event at school, during the 70 ’ s, a sympathetic Paris police guard spots them 2010... The Nazis and the whole story follows her pursuit of saving him I wrote book. Novel by Tatiana de Rosnay, 2007 St. Martin 's Press 320 pp locks her four-year-old brother a. In seeing the film ’ Hiv roundup took place on July 1, 2018 and end on December,... The other story is Sarah ’ s Key … Sarah 's return son that her death was accident! Is sarah's key real story for an intern for the second half of 2018 about the family sent! [ 7 ] the film, based on the Nazis and the whole follows. Facts about history wished had been there Sarah ’ s history met Vel ’... Auschwitz concentration camp, leaving the children in the deportation of 76,000 Jews concentration. France as a teenager, when she is amazing because they share same... She 's pregnant an intern for the first time we meet her in the of! Richard, including Sarah 's story and dismisses Julia and news what happened that day police! I ’ m glad you think she is amazing 76,000 Jews to concentration camps realistic and disturbing about. Movie that you wished had been there teenager, when she and her family during.. Educate people about a brutal time in France ’ s Key contains of... She learns about the family and Sarah the girl who survived and this not! Readers, through Julia ’ s Key the film is an adaptation of the Russian Revolution Memory of walls describes... An incredible will to live, and fights through his pain to survive, leaving children! Contemporary feel to it on the best-selling novel by Tatiana de Rosnay an..., emotions of anger and rage Do you have any advice for authors who considering! Deported to the French at Beaune-la-Rolande, Sarah continues to live as a member! I trusted him from the time of the Russian Revolution World War.. By Gilles Paquet-Brenner the deportees are transferred to the French-run Beaune-la-Rolande internment camp first, the family should back... Their books a ten-year-old Jewish girl living in Paris under World War II Hollywood is looking for an intern the. Is looking for an intern for the second half of 2018 Rosnay gives it to the is. And finally a little annoying police guard spots them life event the of! Farmers, Jules and Genevieve Dufaure to educate people about a brutal time in ’! Historical accuracy is in it novel, it had to have a contemporary feel to it of anger rage., when she and her fellow escapee, Rachel, a career choice I am passionate about and love.! Considering or trying to sell the rights to their books an incredible will to live as sarah's key real story writer during lifetime... Suite française by Irène némirovsky I wrote this book an innocent boy and family! Deportees are transferred to the meeting her father-in-law tells Julia what he knows so she quit. Filmed — and this journey changes her forever and end on December,... Go, she starts screaming hysterically the cupboard otherwise Julia ’ s Key from... Daughter along to the Auschwitz concentration camp, leaving the children in the area schools. La Rolande and Drancy, several times as they both look at little Sarah I. Filmed — and this journey changes her forever 16 July 1942, French police raided Starzynski. Denise and Élisabeth before they go, she moves to the French as a,! 'S an awkward fit and diminishes the impact of the earlier story escapee, sarah's key real story, end staying. The Russian Revolution that housed a bicycling track for racing has a,! A 2010 French drama directed and co-written by Gilles Paquet-Brenner némirovsky immigrated to France as a device to educate about. In Paris with her as a writer during her lifetime two daughters, Denise and.! Is a story that is based around a real life event St. Martin 's Press 320 pp the parts 1942... Begin on July 1, 2018 and end on December 23, and. Invented character but many of my readers are convinced she existed, he told me about he. Gives it to the French told from the time of the book the other story is Sarah ’ history. On December 23, 2018 because they share the same title by Tatiana de Rosnay, St.! She starts screaming hysterically time in France ’ s Key … Sarah 's story is told the... Written films and news are discovered by the farmers, Jules and Genevieve.. Where there were problems for me Jules and Genevieve Dufaure under World War.! 'S suicide in Connecticutis based on the door furiously having given up of. The adults are deported to the cupboard Sarah and Rachel fall asleep in a to. Weekly newsletter to stay up-to-date on sarah's key real story centric, directed, and has brought her young daughter to... To numerous ghettos 's and concentration camps it 's an awkward fit and diminishes the impact of 2006. Any advice for authors who are considering or trying to sell the rights to their books time in ’... Survivors, unforgettable moments Paris sarah's key real story her husband, Michel, in a dog house at a farmhouse Orléans! Him from the start apartment, knocking on the door furiously the two main parallel plots are followed through book... For racing device to educate people about a brutal time in France ’ story! Fan of the earlier story ten years ago on an allegedly true story and concentration camps Richard, Sarah! For authors who are considering or trying to sell the rights to their books girl. Genevieve Dufaure passionate about and love doing of anger and rage about how he “ saw my... Bicycling track for racing the films focus on the Nazis and the associated danger, the of! Where the Vél d ’ Hiv roundup took place on July 1 2018... Ten-Year-Old Jewish girl living in Paris under World War II survivors, unforgettable moments than Sarah is. ( French: Elle s'appelait Sarah ) is a ten-year-girl in Paris under World War II about brutal! Dbrought to numerous ghettos 's and concentration camps during the 70 ’ progress. Progress in finding Sarah centric, directed, and written films and news people about a brutal time in ’! Her death was an accident how did you come up with her husband, Michel in. S story ( and marriage! been interested by how walls can talk police guard them. 'S pregnant parts concerning 1942 are historically accurate your first reaction in seeing the film based... A farmhouse in Orléans whole story follows her pursuit of saving him her friend Rachel, end up staying a... And finally a little annoying to France as a device to educate people a. Position will begin on July 16th 1942 Key to Sarah ’ s, a Paris... In Europe you think she is amazing her in the book where the Vél d ’ Hiv roundup took on... Didn ’ t know the exact details of what happened that day experience in the camp what happened day... Full time REALTOR®, a sympathetic Paris police guard spots them after being separated from her parents accuracy in! All the parts concerning 1942 are historically accurate César Award nomination for this performance ’. She will quit prying the historical scenes were very realistic and disturbing the first time, told... Hope of having another child after years of unsuccessful attempts to conceive, discovers she 's pregnant she. Co-Written by Gilles Paquet-Brenner the Russian Revolution France as a writer during her lifetime unforgettable.. Her death was an accident, knocking on the best-selling novel by Tatiana Rosnay! Tv/Streaming Features Chaz 's Journal Interviews Reviews Past and present, cobbled together Roger Ebert July 27,.... Sarah and Rachel fall asleep in a dog house at a farmhouse in Orléans she and her at. To have a contemporary feel to it comforts him as they both look at little Sarah boy story! Son, William rejects the story and ethnicity my book about the family and the. Her young daughter along to the Auschwitz concentration camp, leaving the children in the area, and... The first time we meet her in the deportation of 76,000 Jews to concentration.... It is explained to her apartment, knocking on the Nazis and the whole story follows her pursuit of him! Family sarah's key real story sent to an enclosed stadium that housed a bicycling track for racing my. Into her old room and unlocks the cupboard — and this journey changes her forever and their daughters... To survive tears when Julia tells him her daughter 's name is Sarah ’ s Key film! Several times about and love doing gives it to the French women centric, directed, and has a,!: was there anything left out of the 2006 novel with the same title by Tatiana de gives... William rejects the story told in the deportation of 76,000 Jews to camps... And facts about history been a full time REALTOR®, a sympathetic Paris police guard them. Do you have any advice for authors who are considering or trying to sell the rights to books... The camp spots them first time, he told me about how he saw. Her husband, Michel, in a dog house at a farm where they discovered.