SARAH'S KEY, PG-13 ( 1 hr & 51 min )

The time shown is one hour ahead.  I forgot to set the time back one hour on my camera to adjust for the end of Daylight Saving Time.

where:  AMC BAY STREET 16 in Emeryville, CA
when:  Monday, November 7th, 2011
show:  7:40 p.m.
costs:  $11.50 Ticket + $5.00 medium Root Beer + $14.30 dinner @ Empire Chinese Buffet in San Pablo, CA ( + $2.00 Tip ) + $5.00 Carquinez Bridge Toll = $37.80
auditorium:  11
seat:  4th row, 7th column

synopsis/overview:  Vel' d'Hiv Devoid  of  Humanity

A pregnant  American expatriate journalist in Paris, France, learns that her home once belonged to a Jewish family that was rounded-up to be sent to a death camp.  As she starts her research for an article on said family, she discovers a terrible secret.  A secret that sets her on a journey of discovery and closure.

noteworthy scenes:  1.) Round-up; 2.) Magazine article proposal; 3.) "It was the French"; 4.) Velodrome; 5.) "Nobody in the world can choose when I die"; 6.) "Frankly, I expected more enthusiasm"; 7.) Separation; 8.) Computer data search; 9.) Escape; 10.) "I just can't believe they didn't know anything"; 11.) Diphtheria; 12.) Train; 13.) Closet; 14.) Personal papers; 15.) Letters; 16.) "How do you know what you would have done"; 17.) Goodbye letter; 18.) Brooklyn search; 19.) Affair; 20.) "Do you recognize her"; 21.) "I deeply desire to have this baby"; 22.) Father/son talk; 23.) "Not an accident"; 24.) "My whole life was a lie"; 25.) Diaries; and 26.) "When a story's told, it's not forgotten."

audience reaction:  There was only one other person in the auditorium with me.  And he was seated way in the back where I could not hear any reaction from him.

recommendation:  I liked this movie, a heart-breaking and depressing journey that finds bittersweet closure at the end.  I was moved to tears at times--let me rephrase that:  My eyes welled with clear liquid.   If you go see this movie, bring a box of Kleenex facial tissues with you or get some extra napkins at the concessions counter.

spoiler alert!  The key shown in the movie poster up above Was Not Sarah's Key.  Her key was short and stubby.  I can't believe that the posted guard at the watchtower didn't notice the escapees in the bright of day.  Why didn't the dog bark at the strangers?  Did they really have to use the "I found the secret door with you" song?  Why didn't she use her computer's White Pages or even ancestry.com to find the person that she was after?  She was probably the prettiest girl in that dance hall yet nobody wanted to dance with her--yeah, right ....

fyi:  Vel' d'Hiv is short for Velodrome d'Hiver, an indoor racetrack for bicycle races, in Paris, France.  It was there that  thousands of  innocent Jews were rounded-up prior to their shipment to death camps on July 16 and 17 in 1942.  Although this movie is a work of fiction, how the velodrome was depicted was true-to-historical-fact.

Although the French Police actively took part in the round-up of the Jews, after the war, their punishment amounted to nothing more than just a "slap on the wrist"!  And it took the French government over 50 years before they admitted to their complicity with the Nazis in this most heinous crime against humanity.

word of advice:  "Do unto others what you would have others do unto you."  ( Jesus Christ's Golden Rule in The New Testament of The Bible, Matthew 7:12 )

tidbits:  I decided to go to the 99 Chinese Buffet, first, at the Hilltop Mall in Richmond, CA, on my way to the theatre, to have dinner first.  But the buffet went out of business ( I guess the 99 Chinese walked-off the job. L.O.L. )  So, I ended-up going to the Empire Chinese Buffet in San Pablo, CA, instead.

Although the food was good, I could only stomach two plates' full.  That's one down from my usual three.  If this keeps up, I'm gonna have to stop eating at Chinese  buffets because I won't be getting my money's worth anymore.


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