Sarah's Key (2010) Elle s'appelait Sarah (original title)

Director:

Gilles Paquet-Brenner

Writers:

Gilles Paquet-Brenner (screenplay)
Serge Joncour (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

22 July 2011 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

Uncover the mystery

Plot:

In modern-day Paris, a journalist finds her life becoming entwined with a young girl whose family was torn apart during the notorious Vel' d'Hiv Roundup in 1942.

Plot Keywords:

Holocaust | World War Two | German Occupation Of France | World War Two In France | Holocaust Survivor

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Julia Jarmond
Mélusine Mayance	...	Sarah Starzynski
Niels Arestrup	...	Jules Dufaure
Frédéric Pierrot	...	Bertrand Tezac
Michel Duchaussoy	...	Édouard Tezac
Dominique Frot	...	Geneviève Dufaure
Natasha Mashkevich	...	Mme Starzynski
Gisèle Casadesus	...	Mamé
Aidan Quinn	...	William Rainsferd
Sarah Ber	...	Rachel
Arben Bajraktaraj	...	M. Starzynski
Karina Hin	...	Zoé
James Gerard	...	Mike Bambers
Joseph Rezwin	...	Joshua (as Joe Rezwin)
Kate Moran	...	Alexandra
Paul Mercier	...	Michel Starzynski
Alexandre Le Provost	...	Policier en civil
Serpentine Teyssier	...	Gardienne Immeuble
Simon Eine	...	Franck Levy
Julie Fournier	...	Femme brune Vel d'Hiv
Paige Jennifer Barr	...	Ornella Harris (as Paige Barr)
Joanna Merlin	...	Mme Rainsferd
George Birt	...	Richard Rainsferd
Vinciane Millereau	...	Nathalie Dufaure
Sylviane Fraval	...	Bertrand’s Mother
Dan Herzberg	...	Le gendarme rouquin
Nancy Tate	...	Alice
Frederick Guillaud	...	Richard Rainsferd jeune (as Frédérick Guillaud)
Maurice Lustyk	...	Homme au violon
Charlotte Poutrel	...	Sarah adulte
Maxim Driesen	...	Edouard Tezac enfant
Xavier Beja	...	André Tezac
Jacqueline Noëlle	...	Vieille femme
Jean-Pierre Hutinet	...	Le médecin ferme
Jonathan Kerr	...	Officier de police camp
Matthias Kreß	...	Officier allemand ferme (as Matthias Kress)
Franck Beckmann	...	Officier allemand train
Nicolas Seconda	...	Gendarme 1 Vel d'Hiv
François D'Aubigny	...	Gendarme 2 Vel d'Hiv
Stéphane Charond	...	Gendarme 1 camp
José Fumanal	...	Gendarme 2 camp
Gilles Louzon	...	Gendarme 3 camp
Pierre Nahori	...	Policier train
Sophie Piccioto	...	Voix 1 (as Sophie Bacry Picciotto)
Christian Vurpillot	...	Voix 2 (as Christian Vurpillat)
Rosa Herzberg	...	Voix 3 femme
Robert Potsztein	...	Voix 4 homme (as Robert Rotsztein)
Yasmine Ghazarian	...	Une femme camp
Naëva Lissonnet	...	Fillette camp
Céline Caussimon	...	Infirmière vel d'hiv
Claudine Acs	...	Femme hystérique Vel d'Hiv
Viktoria Li	...	Infirmière clinique
Loïc Risser	...	Infirmier
Franck Chilly	...	Brancardier (as Franck Chailly)
Marco Florio	...	Serveur italien
Alice St. Clair	...	Serveuse café Mozart (as Alice Erskine)
Stéphanie Gesnel	...	Jeune femme á la fenétre
Gérard Couchet	...	Vioil homme á la fenétre
Mark Fairchild	...	Bob Rainsferd
Melinda Wade	...	Jeune femme blonde américaine
Kiley Liddell	...	Sarah bébé
Brooke Liddell	...	Sarah Bébé
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jacques Chirac	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Tatiana De Rosnay	...	Client in restaurant (uncredited)

Directed by
Gilles Paquet-Brenner

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Tatiana De Rosnay		novel
Serge Joncour		screenplay
Gilles Paquet-Brenner		screenplay

Produced by
Stéphane Marsil	....	producer
Gaetan Rousseau	....	executive producer
Clément Sentilhes	....	line producer

Original Music by
Max Richter

Cinematography by
Pascal Ridao		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Hervé Schneid

Casting by
Gwendale Schmitz
Lina Todd

Production Design by
Françoise Dupertuis

Costume Design by
Eric Perron

Makeup Department
Veronique Bosle	....	key hair stylist
Stéphane Desmarez	....	key hair stylist
Alexandra Hannoun	....	additional makeup artist
Valérie Mendiondo	....	coiffeur
Gill Robillard	....	key makeup artist
Nelly Robin	....	makeup artist
Linda Schwach	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jacquot Clotilde	....	assistant unit manager
Noemie Commissaire	....	assistant unit manager
Matthieu Constans	....	assistant unit manager
Benjamin Dewaele	....	unit manager
Gary Giudice	....	unit production manager: New York
Marie-Line Lafont	....	post-production supervisor
Marta Garcia Larriu	....	additional assistant unit manager
David Paté	....	additional assistant unit manager
Arthur Tabuteau	....	assistant production manager
Antoine Théron	....	production manager
Charles Zemer	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mallorie Ballestra-Duquesnoy	....	third assistant director
Jolian Blevins	....	second assistant director: New York
Rémi Bouvier	....	third assistant director: Renforts
Olivier Coutard	....	first assistant director
Thomas Ghitti	....	third assistant director: Renforts
Anne Gilles	....	second assistant director
Stanislas Marsil	....	third assistant director
Muriel Monnard	....	third assistant director
Julie Navarre	....	third assistant director: Renforts
Yann Sobezynski	....	first assistant director: New York
Nicolas Tretiakow	....	third assistant director: Renforts
Cedric Vara	....	second second assistant director
Haruyo Yokota	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Emmanuelle Hoessly	....	assistant property master
Pauline Lefevere	....	assistant art director
Emmanuel Maintigneux	....	set designer
Kris Major	....	property master

Sound Department
Lucas Albert	....	boom operator
Didier Codoul	....	sound operator
Fabien Devillers	....	adr recordist
Fabien Devillers	....	dialogue editor
Fabien Devillers	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bill Donnelly	....	sound mixer (new york)
Florian Fabre	....	foley artist
Alexandre Fleurant	....	supervising sound editor
Sebastien Marquilly	....	foley recordist
Sebastien Marquilly	....	sound designer
Sebastien Marquilly	....	sound editor
Rafael Ridao	....	boom operator
Piste Rouge	....	sound: studio
Bruno Seznec	....	sound studio manager
Bruno Seznec	....	sound supervisor

Special Effects by
Rodolphe Chabrier	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Rodolphe Chabrier	....	visual effects
Gaston Marcotti	....	digital compositor
Antonin Seydoux	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Sybille Blouin	....	stunts
Rémi Canaple	....	stunt coordinator
David Grolleau	....	stunts
Cyrille Hertel	....	stunts
Manny Siverio	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Matthieu Agius	....	second assistant camera
Christophe Bassoulet	....	electrician
Simon Blanchard	....	additional first assistant camera
Julien Bonet	....	still photographer
Julien Bureau	....	first assistant camera
David Chambille	....	second assistant camera
Christian Flores	....	second assistant camera: New York
Jean-Yves Freess	....	key grip
Remy Freess	....	grip
Yannick Freess	....	grip
Bruno Glasberg	....	electrician
Cédric Guerby	....	electrician
Adrien Guillaume	....	assistant camera
Ben Katz	....	assistant camera
Andy Kromphardt	....	assistant camera: New York unit
Vincent Plaidy	....	camera operator
Samuel Renollet	....	first assistant camera
George Tur	....	first assistant camera: New York unit
Charlotte Vitroly	....	assistant camera

Casting Department
Byron Beane	....	casting assistant
Bastien Beltrami	....	extras casting
Aurore Lance	....	casting assistant
Camille Lecat	....	extras casting
Vanessa Moy	....	casting assistant
Rita Powers	....	new york extras casting
Céline Touraine	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Nathalie Chesnais	....	costume supervisor
Sarah Cuno	....	assistant costume designer: New York

Editorial Department
Anne-Sophie Bion	....	assistant editor
Romaric Nereau	....	second assistant editor
Mark Reaser	....	hd mastering
Anita Roth	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Falko Duczmal	....	scoring protools engineer
Richard Glasser	....	soundtrack album producer
Michael Schubert	....	score recorded and mixed by
Stefan Karrer	....	soundtrack album producer (uncredited)

Other crew
Tanya Blumstein	....	dialect coach: Kristen Scott Thomas
Scott Bredengerd	....	production assistant: New York
Marion Cecinas	....	production assistant
Christophe Chauveau	....	location scout
Corinne Devaux	....	choreographer
Brian James Fitzpatrick	....	production assistant: new york
Scott Friedman	....	production assistant: New York
Conor Griff	....	key production assistant: New York
Cathy Kerbrat	....	production assistant
Michèle Massé	....	location scout
Nathalie Nouaili	....	location scout (2010)
Manuel Pouet	....	location scout
Claire Skowronek	....	production assistant: first team: new york
Erin Sweeney	....	production assistant: new york
Louis Zuppardi	....	location manager: New York (uncredited)

Thanks
Ernst Brenner	....	in memory of
Ludwig Brenner	....	in memory of
Moritz Brenner	....	in memory of

Production Companies

• Hugo Productions
• Studio 37 (co-production)
• TF1 Droits Audiovisuels (co-production)
• France 2 Cinéma (co-production)
• Canal+ (participation)
• TPS Star (participation)
• France Télévision (participation)
• Région Ile-de-France (support)
• A Plus Image (in association with)

Distributors

• AZ Films (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Benelux Film Distributors (2010) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Camino Filmverleih (2011) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• GAGA (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Lucky Red (2012) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Monopole-Pathé (2010) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Savor (2010) (Spain) (theatrical)
• StudioCanal (2011) (UK) (theatrical)
• UGC Distribution (2010) (France) (theatrical)
• Weinstein Company, The (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• EuroVideo (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Film1 (2011) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Madman Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (all media)
• StudioCanal (2011) (UK) (DVD)
• StudioCanal (2011) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Video Film Express (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Video Film Express (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• Mac Guff Ligne

Other Companies

• De Lane Lea  ADR recording
• Milan Records  soundtrack

Also Known As:

"Elle s'appelait Sarah" - France (original title)
"Her Name was Sarah" - International (English title) (informal literal title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic material including disturbing situations involving the Holocaust

Runtime:

France:111 min | USA:111 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English | Italian | German | Yiddish

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Sweden:11 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #46784) | Australia:M | South Korea:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:NC-16 | Japan:G | UK:12 | Netherlands:12 | Ireland:12 | Germany:12

Company:

Hugo Productions

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the dance scene with Sarah and her future husband, the music playing is a trumpet muted. The band shown have their trumpets un-muted, which would sound like a normal trumpet.

Quotes:

Julia Jarmond:And so I write this for you, My Sarah. With the hope that one day, when you're old enough, this story that lives with me, will live with you as well. When a story is told, it is not forgotten. It becomes something else, a memory of who we were; the hope of what we can become.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "De wereld draait door: Episode #6.38" (2010)

Emotional and tragic story.

When a Jewish family get arrested by Hitler siding French police, young Sarah not understanding the magnitude of what is occurring locks her younger brother in a closet, expecting to come back and recover him shortly. Realizing quickly that the situation she is in is far more terrible than expected she is desperate to escape and set him free. Sick, her and her family are taken to a camp where parents are separated from the children and are never seen again. Recovered Sarah and another young girl find an escape and run through the countryside to safety. The other girl becomes sick and they are both taken in by a older French couple but as the girl worsens there is a risk of exposing the girls as Jews. Although the young girl doesn't make it, Sarah is hidden away till the Nazi's leave and Sarah pleads with them to take her to Paris to find her brother. The journey is fraught with danger and the end obvious to us.

In modern day Paris, Julia and her family inspect an apartment of her in laws that her architect French husband will redo. Julia, am American, works as a journalist and wants to cover a story about the use of a velodrome where Parisian Jews where herded to and discovers the story of Sarah. An obsession grows as Julia is determined to find out what happened to the young girl and to find out how her husbands family came to own the flat.

This is a very fine film that is equally a historical story as well as a mystery as Julia seeks out the truth with a fine performance by Kristen Scott Thomas as Julia. The film flit's between the too separate yet connected story lines. Scenes of confusion within the velodrome are horrid too watch as are the scenes of separation of parents and children in the camp. We as the audience can almost guess the outcome of Sarah's young brother left locked in a closet whose key Sarah clings to, yet the outcome is still gut wrenching and Sarah's scream is enough for us to understand what she finds without us having to have it confirmed visually.

The obsession of Julia is a fascinating one; trying to work out first how the flat became someone elses, to searching for some sign of what became of the young girl takes her her far and wide and she encounters an array of people including Sarah's son, who is clueless to his Mother's past.

Scott Thomas gives quite a wonderful yet almost subdued performance as she struggles with the horrors of the past and her families connection to events as well as dealing with her own personal torment. The film is extraordinarily moving in it's telling of Sarah with her experience resonating and shaping those that come after her. Yet because the film chooses to focus on two timelines, we are never entirely dragged into the horrors of the Holocaust and whilst we are never far from them, it never overbalances itself. It is a fine film that depicted another story of the many thousands that WWII has given us, one that for France is of shame and one that, as with so many others continues to be relevant and effect those generations after.

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