27 out of 27 people found the following review helpful:

Mystery, romance and betrayal in WW2 France

antoine from , 13th October, 2008

Growing up in the decades after the second World War, Francois is the skinny, sickly son of two bronzed and athletic parents. He dreams up a stronger, fitter older brother to compensate for his own feelings of inadequacy - and only slowly comes to learn that such a brother really existed. One secret leads to more revelations in this powerful, emotional story whose heart is in the Nazi occupation of France. Looking back now from the 1980s ( the modern era in black & white while the 1950's and the war period itself are in glorious colour) Francois recognizes a passionate love triangle, and a web of desire and betrayal in his parents' lives. And it's all mixed up with the Jewish experience of WW2 France. The French still have trouble revisiting the traumatic experience of the German occupation - and particularly the guilty silence over Jewish deportations. Director Claude Milller avoids any melodrama but quietly points up the huge gap in the family's past and the shame that comes down through generations. It's a gripping story, part mystery, as the truth emerges from revisiting the past. It's also a tragic romance and a reminder of the power of repression & silence. And it has some cracking performances from Cecile de France and Patrick Bruel as the parents, Tania & Maxime, from Julie Depardieu as their friend, and especially from Ludivine Sagnier as Maxime's first wife.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Secret

Milkybar from , 13th February, 2009

An excellent film slightly betrayed by a curious dissipation of energy and/or purpose which is hard to identify. However, these French films do the style very well indeed. My only minor gripe would be the casting of the father; his mildly repulsive nature, no doubt intended, was a little too tangible for comfort, more so than the film required and slightly counter-productive, to me at least!

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2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

A Secret

A Customer from Braunton, 7th December, 2008

Excelllent. .. true to the award winning book Memories. Visually exactly as I would have imagined it from the text. Worth seeing as it is supposedly based on true facts during the time of Jewish suppression and the Holocaust.

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Heartwarming

A Customer from OXON, 5th November, 2009

I guess it was a 'secret' to the young boy but for the audience, it's fairly obvious what happened within 20 minutes of the film starting. That said, it is well acted and you become engaged with the story and its sub-plots. A little over-long possibly but definitely worth a look.

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Original WWII Film

Randomfilmbuff from , 22nd June, 2009

This was a new take on the Holocaust that didnt just rely on the terrible events of the Nazi Regime. it added a personal relationship situation which meant it was not just telling history. Pelase note that this film is in French and has subtitles

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0 out of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Rubbish

A Customer from South West Wales, 1st April, 2009

Absolute rubbish. What secret? There was no mystery.

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A Secret

A Customer from Barking, 19th February, 2009

A real meandering tale of the plight of French Jews trying to escape the concentration camps, by every means, including changing their name and denying their heritage. Tragic and thought provoking.

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