THE ROUND UP (La Rafle) (M)
All
the characters in this film are real.
All the events, even the most extreme,
really took place.
'There are in the life of a nation times
that wound the memory and the idea one has of one's country. It is difficult to
talk about such times… That day, France, the cradle of Enlightenment and
human rights, a safe haven for the oppressed, committed an unforgivable sin. Breaking
its word, it delivered those it should protect to their executioners.' - Jacques
Chirac (President of France 1995-2007), 16 July 1995
1942.
Joseph Weisman is 11 years old. On the morning of June 6, he must go to school
with a yellow star stitched to his chest. The new anti-Jewish decree of the French
government has come into force. Like all Jews in France, Jo learns that he is
banned from parks, cinemas, fairgrounds and public gardens. Despite this, Jo and
his family lead a happy life in Paris, until dawn on July 16, when this happiness
is shattered. At 4am they are awakened by shouts and banging on doors as men in
black uniforms burst into apartments. Jo and his family are hauled out of their
beds and herded onto buses by French gendarmes.
13,000 Jews
are crammed into the Winter Velodrome in Paris. This is the biggest round up in
history and perpetrated by collaborating French police. The imprisoned Jews endure
five days without water, food or healthcare. Dr Sheinbaum (Jean Reno) whom has
been rounded up with all the others does what he can for the welfare of those
around him. Annette Monod (Mélanie Laurent), a protestant Red Cross nurse,
is appalled by the racism of her country's government of collaborators and attempts
to provide aid to the Jews as their ordeal continues.
The screenplay
of The Round Up is based closely on the experiences of Joseph Weisman, one of
the very few to escape deportation to the camps. After viewing the film Weisman
praised Rose Bosch for how well she was able to portray these events on screen:
'No one could have told the story of the Rafle better… the way it looked,
the way it felt, was just like in 1942.'
IN CINEMAS 5 MAY
