La Rafle
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Synopsis
In picturesque Montmarte, three children wearing a yellow star play in the streets, oblivious to the darkness spreading over Nazi-occupied France. Their parents do not seem too concerned either, somehow putting their trust in the Vichy Government. But beyond this view, much is going on. Hitler demands that the French government round up its Jews and put them on trains for the extermination camps in the East. The collaborators start to put the plan into effect and within a short time, 13,000 of Paris’s Jews, among them 4,000 children, will be rounded up and sent on a road with no return. The fateful date: July 16th, 1942, 70 years ago.
With a meticulously constructed script based on extensive research and first-hand accounts, writer/director Rose Bosch brings to the screen one of the most moving dramas of the year. Powered by fluid direction and a string of stars- from Jean Reno (The Da Vinci Code, Leon: The Professional) to Mélanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds, The Concert)- La Rafle (The Roundup) became a big box-office hit in France, and its audiences included thousands of young people who came to learn about a dark chapter in their country’s history.
Reviews
Feature Article - Holocaust survivor says movie 'La Rafle' is 'absolute truth'
"Rosette Goldstein was 5 when French police rounded up her father and shipped him via railroad to the Buchenwald death camp.
Goldstein, now 73 and a resident of Boca Raton, was living in Paris when French police, in the early-morning hours of July 16, 1942, thundered into homes and yanked out 13,000 Jewish men, women and children. They would be detained for several days inside the city's indoor velodrome, malnourished and teeming with disease, before being shipped to Auschwitz and Buchenwald.
The French government's complicity during World War II in transporting its own Jewish citizens to Nazi camps is the subject of the French film "La Rafle," which made ts South Florida debut Feb. 17th. "The film is absolute truth," said Goldstein."
Read more"The Roundup treats with sensitivity and concern for historical accuracy the bleak tale of the Holocaust. The viewer sees each of the four groups who played a role in the epic catastrophe: victims, murderers, bystanders, and the precious few who helped. Do see this film. There is much to ponder in its message."
Read more"Writer-director Rose Bosch is working in unabashed historical epic mode here, balancing individual stories with grand-scale awfulness effectively. She never swerves for cheap sentiment, she just lays it all out. As a reminder, it has universal impact."
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Additional info
Key Statistics:
Over 3 Million Cinema Admissions in France
Click above to view photos from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum screening of La Rafle, introduced by Writer/ Director Rose Bosch, Producer Ilan Goldman, and Actress Mélanie Laurent.
Learn more about the Vel d’Hiv Roundup in these articles from around the web:
Los Angeles Times: "French leader apologizes for WWII roundup of Jews" - 7/23/12
JTA: "Survey finds young Frenchman unfamiliar with WWII Jewish roundup" - 7/17/12
France 24: "Police files shed light on wartime Jewish roundup (Video)" - 7/16/12
Jewish Daily Forward: "France Confronts Sins of Past — And Present" (Op-Ed) - 10/6/12