La Rafle

              I will warn you; this is an absolutely heartbreaking film.  The ending is somewhat positive (at least one part is), but it is still incredibly sad.  Also, since this film has subtitles, it is not easy to watch and do something else at the same time.  Unless you know French.  For everyone else, reading the subtitles means you see everything that happens.          

                The Germans have taken over 1940s Paris and they want the Jews out.  To remove them, and reach their quota, there is a raid in the middle of the night by the French police.  Warned the police are coming, some of the Jews manage to escape.  One young woman evades the police with her youngest sibling because of the aid of two prostitutes.  Others get hidden away and remain unfound.  Unfortunately, no matter how strong the efforts, the number who escape are few.  The remaining are taken to an arena where for days they are kept without food or water.

                It is at the arena where nurse Annette Monod (Mélanie Laurent) becomes involved.  While not Jewish herself, Annette works with Dr. David Sheinbaum (Jean Reno) doing all they can for those held in the arena.  Eventually everyone moves onto an internment camp and Annette goes with them.  She also stays with the children when all of the adults, including their parents, are sent to other camps, leaving the children on their own.  It is Annette that brings the poor food the children are given to the attention of her superiors.  And it is Annette that takes on the care of Noé (Mathieu and Romain Di Concetto).

                Noé is a young boy, who no matter the circumstances, is always sweet and happy.  He does not know his mother has died.  She was heavily pregnant during the raid and did not survive.  Still, despite waiting for his mother, Noé becomes very attached to Annette.  He also enjoys spending time with his brother and his brother’s friends.  They are a protective group of boys, who despite the conditions they are living in, are still going through the natural things of life, such as liking girls for the first time.

                Eventually the kids are sent off to another camp: an extermination camp.  Annette, who collapses from illness can’t do anything to stop them.  Still, she tries.  When Annette finds out what is going to happen to the children, despite being sick, she tries to get to the station in time.  Sadly, she is too late.  Before her arrival, all the children were packed onto trains and sent away.  It is here that Noé loses the teddy bear he had managed to hold onto the entire time.

                The last scene is after the war and the surviving Jews are trying to find their loved ones.  There are some happy moments in this scene, but the facts of it are extremely sad.  I don’t know for sure how many of the characters, if any, are real, but the events certainly are.  Watching this film, I want to wrap everyone up and tell them we’ll find some way to save you.  We’ll find some way to keep you safe.  I felt this way for all the people, but especially the children, and Noé in particular.  He was such a sweet little boy.  I really hope Annette was able to get his teddy bear from where it fell.

                While from what I wrote it may seem that Annette was the only person outside the Jewish community who cared, that is not the case.  When the Jews were being held in the arena, the firefighters came to give them water.  They took messages from the captives even though they weren’t supposed to.  Their commander, knowing what was going on, informed them as to how they could pass the messages on without getting into trouble.

                Another person who cared was a plumber for the arena.  He helped some escape from their captivity by claiming they were with him so they could leave the building. 

A priest took in the young woman helped by the prostitutes. 

Then there was the woman who tried to sound the alarm when the raid began.  So, while there were horrible neighbors all around who were happy to see the Jews go, this lady, and others like her, did what they could to help.

                While these events happened in the 1940s, I feel like they are repeating themselves.  All the time we hear about parents and children being separated and the questionable conditions they must deal with simply because of who they are and where they come from.  

I hope that all those who watch this film, and even those who just read this post, ask themselves, is this a history we really want to repeat?