The Starzynski family, the original residents of the apartment, are among the French Jews rousted from their homes and taken away to Vel' d'Hiv, a large bike track where the Jews were kept in deplorable conditions until they were sent to camps. When the police come to their home, young Sarah (Melusine Mayance) instructs her younger brother Michel to hide as she locks him in their closet for safety and she will retrieve him when it is safe. Once the family is placed at Vel' d'Hiv, Sarah becomes panicked that her little brother was left behind and she and her parents try to get the police to return for Michel, but their pleas are met with physical abuse. When the parents are separated from Sarah and they are all sent to work camps, Sarah befriends another young girl and the pair manage to escape and embark on their dangerous journey to return to Paris to rescue Michel.
The film seamlessly glides between the scenes of 1942 (and beyond) and the present as you see what is happening to the Starzynski family and then eventually just Sarah, and what is happening in the present, as Julia becomes obsessed with finding out what became of this brave little girl and her family. Julia becomes a changed person as she discovers the strength of one young girl determined to fight insurmountable odds. When Julia eventually connects with William Rainsferd (Aidan Quinn), whom she believes is connected to this mysterious little girl, she will forever change his life and open his eyes to a past he never knew existed.
Sarah's Key is a beautifully crafted film. While it is mostly subtitled, the story is quite riveting and moving. Melusine Mayance is a brilliant actress, despite her young age, and I simply never tire of watching Kristin Scott Thomas. She's great. While the subject matter is sad, the film is incredibly interesting and taught me a good bit about a part of World War II I really never knew, what happened to the Jews living in France. It is short on special features, including only a making-of (again subtitled), but it clocks in at a little over an hour and is really intriguing as it covers lots of different aspects of the film's creation, from the development of the film from Tatiana de Rosnay's novel, to the actual making of the film, to the various actors.
If you are interested in World War II and want to see a different side than what is typically offered, check out Sarah's Key. The acting is great, the story is well crafted and the topic is slightly different than the norm. While it is not one I would watch over and over, it would make a good rental for someone interested in the subject matter.
