In 1942, Paris is occupied by the Germans and the Jews are deported in the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup. Sarah, aged 10, hides her brother in a cupboard before fleeing with her parents, vowing to return. The implications of this promise affect many lives, rippling outward in time.
It’s highly engaging. Kristin Scott Thomas gives one of her best performances as Julia Jarmond, a journalist who begins researching Sarah’s life and finds it’s unexpectedly connected with her own.
Somehow, all the jumping around in time and geography doesn’t quite work. I wished it was a true story rather than a slightly convoluted work of fiction. And in the final third, there are some slightly silly decisions. For example, there’s an incongruous father/son scene that feels completely out of place. And the scenes of Julia with her journalist colleagues feel hammy and lack the ring of truth. All that said, there’s a touching story at the heart of this drama and the two female leads are both superb.
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