In the summer of 1942 in Paris thousands of Jews were rounded up and packed in the Velodrome d'Hiver, a cycling arena, before parents were separated from each other, and then from their children, to be sent to internment camps. During the war, and after, the French tried to keep what happened a secret but, eventually, the story came to light.

In "Sarah's Key" we meet Julia in 2009, an American journalist, played by Kristin Scott Thomas, married and living
in Paris, who is doing a story about that period and finds out that her
French husband's family is involved in the history of Sarah, (Melusine Mayance), who, when they came to take her family, locked her baby brother in a closet promising to return.

There
are many story lines, and characters, not to mention constant going
back and forth between the war years and present day, all easy to follow
due to the screenplay by Serge Joncour and Gilles Paquet-Brenner, with the latter also directing.

Though
the movie does deal with the holocaust it does not dwell on the horrors
that took place, mainly just indicating them, instead concentrating on
Sarah and Julia, along with many twists and turn. The two actresses do
an excellent job as do the many supporting players plus a moving cameo
by Adian Quinn.

I
was not aware of this particular collusion between the French and Nazis
and this film approaches it an interesting way with a story that holds
your attention from beginning to end while not manipulating the
audience.

With
both easy to read, understood subtitles and many scenes in English,
plus taking place in Europe and America, with the photography crisp and
clear, commanding your attention from beginning to end, this is certainly a movie worth seeing.