Saturday, March 14, 2009
HIDDEN STORIES
Today's film was
There are many secrets here as a young boy unravels his family's past from bits and pieces put together over the years.
The big secret is that his parents managed to hide their Jewish past during WWII through a series of betrayals and serendipity.
The story is told by the adult boy and it is shown in time layers as memory unfolds.
There are many parts of this which are generic to growing up as well as specific to the situation. For example, the young boy has an imaginary friend, indeed a brother, who he sees and plays with. So did I. Most only children do. In this case it has more than usual relevance.
I don't want to tip it all off.
The film is enjoyable as a well constructed work of art and while it is immensely sad, it has a positive message about the human desire to both hide and reveal unseen truths.
What a surprise for a child to find that his parents have lied to him about the most basic things.
I recommend this film also for people who are interested in the period as I am. I grew up during this time and had no inkling of the other aspects of the War. I have read many novels having to do with France, in particular, during the Occupation and this beautifully constructed film shows a great deal of clothing, atmosphere and daily life at that time.
I imagine that for the French, who are just coming to terms with their dual identity during the War, a film like this has to be quite stirring. The Germans had to face their own history quite soon after the War. Other countries have taken more time to see how collaboration and double lives worked to enable Germany to do much of its evil. In France, there were never more than a small contingent of German troops to keep control over the country. The rest was done by the Vichy government and many Frenchmen who simply switched over in one day. The Jews of France were almost immediately betrayed by neighbors and friends.
We have only an inkling of what this might have been like.
I will give this film a 4out of Netflix5. It is very good and I would be more than happy to see it again.
