Sarah's Key 2011

In 1942, a brave 10-year-old, Sarah Starzynski finds herself in a desperate situation. To protect her younger brother, she locks him away in a secret closet, instructing him to stay put until her return. With the key in her possession, she and her family are forcibly taken to the Vélodrome d’Hiver, where they endure inhumane conditions under the watch of the Paris Police and French Secret Service.

As conditions worsen, the deportees are moved to the Beaune-la-Rolande internment camp. Tragically, the adults are deported to the dreaded Auschwitz concentration camp, leaving the children behind. In a daring attempt to escape with her friend Rachel, a compassionate Paris police guard spots them. When Sarah pleads for their freedom to save her brother, he hesitates but ultimately raises the barbed wire to let them go.

The girls find refuge in a dog house at a nearby farm belonging to Jules and Genevieve Dufaure. Despite the imminent danger, the Dufaures choose to aid the girls. However, as Rachel’s condition deteriorates, a call for a doctor draws the attention of a skeptical German officer who begins questioning the Dufaures about the second child. Just as he embarks on a search, a French doctor tragically brings out Rachel’s lifeless body. A few days later, the Dufaures return Sarah to her family’s apartment in Paris, leading to a heart-wrenching reunion when a 12-year-old boy opens the door. As Sarah frantically unlocks the cupboard, she discovers a horrifying truth, sending her into a hysterical scream.

In the aftermath of the war, Sarah becomes part of the Dufaures’ family, living alongside their two grandsons. By the time she turns 18, she relocates to the United States in hopes of burying her traumatic past. However, as she starts a family and gives birth to her son William, the weight of her history leads to darkness. When William is nine, Sarah, burdened by guilt for her brother’s fate, tragically drives her car into an oncoming truck, with her death being brushed off as an accident to her son.

Fast forward to the present: Julia, a journalist, inherits her husband’s grandparents’ apartment. Noticing a connection to the Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup, she becomes absorbed in uncovering the past. Her father-in-law shares what he knows, urging her to stop her investigation. Undeterred, Julia embarks on an obsessive journey to trace Sarah’s life, eventually discovering William’s whereabouts in Italy. When William learns about his mother’s secret Jewish heritage from Julia, he dismisses her claims, only to later be confronted by his dying father, Richard, who reveals the painful truth and hands down Sarah’s journals.

Amidst her own struggles, Julia discovers she’s pregnant after years of attempting to conceive. Her husband, embroiled in an affair, chooses to leave, not wanting more children. Resolving to keep the baby, Julia eventually moves to New York City with her daughters after their divorce.

Two years later, in a heartwarming reunion at a restaurant cherished by Sarah, William reconnects with Julia and shares more about his mother. The moment becomes especially poignant when Julia mentions her daughter’s name is Sarah, bringing him to tears. Together, they embrace the shared history of love, loss, and resiliency as they look towards a hopeful future.