Film Review
La Rafle (a.k.a.
The Round Up) recounts, in
meticulous and at times gruelling detail, one of the bleakest chapters
in French history. On 16th July 1942, just over 13,000 Jews
(including 4,000 children) were rounded up in Paris by the French
police and bussed to holding centres prior to being shipped to the
extermination camps. 7,000 of these unfortunates were held for
five days, in appalling conditions, at the Winter Velodrome, from which
this infamous roundup
(the largest of its kind prosecuted in France) derives its name:
la Rafle du Vel d'hiv. The
film reveals nothing new - its subject matter is one that is taught to
every school child in France and has already featured in two very
respectable films, Michel Mitrani's
Les Guichets du Louvre (1974)
and Joseph Losey's
Monsieur Klein (1976).
However, through its authentic reconstruction of real events,
La Rafle brings home the scale and
inhumanity of a state-orchestrated crime which has left a deep scar on
the French psyche, and which must serve as a perpetual reminder of the
necessity to guard against racism in all its forms.
The film is sincerely meant and a polished production, but it falls
somewhat short of being a masterpiece. The distinguished cast and
blockbuster production values can hardly fail to give
La Rafle mainstream appeal
(it attracted an audience of 2.9 million in France, despite
some mixed reviews), but
its impact is greatly diminished by flaws in both the screenwriting and
direction. What harms the film's integrity most is its
half-hearted attempt to explain how the roundup came about, to finger
those who were responsible. Periodically, we are snatched away
from the main narrative thread and forced to eavesdrop on (a not very
convincing) Hitler going off on one of his demented tirades and covert meetings
between the French government and high-ranking Nazi officials.
Some of these digressions offer a few shocking revelations
(such as the fact that it was the French government which persuaded the
Nazis to deport children, because France lacked the resources to adopt
thousands of orphans), but most are unwelcome and weaken the dramatic
thrust of the film. Another possible error of judgement is
the film's unnecessary epilogue, which is a crude (if not unseemly)
attempt to lift the mood and end on a more positive note after we learn
that thousands of children have been sent to their deaths. You
can understand why director Rose Bosch felt this upbeat Hollywood-style
coda was necessary but it just fails to ring true and feels painfully
hollow after the harrowing scenes that preceded it.
Despite its shortcomings,
La
Rafle is a film that grabs the attention and delivers a fair
number a few emotional jolts (which just about make up for the
egregious bouts of sentiment-milking and the generally lacklustre
performances). Whatever sins the film commits are forgotten
in an instant when we follow Mélanie Laurent into the Winter
Velodrome and are confronted with the jaw-dropping spectacle of
thousands of people crammed into a vast arena as though they were
cattle. Okay, so it is obviously a computer-generated image (and
not a particularly brilliant one at that), but it still brings a lump
to your throat and makes you realise the obscene scale of the roundup
and its human consequences. The film's one other
stomach-pummelling sequence is the one that takes place in the
Beaune-la-Rolande camp (the last stop before Auschwitz), when thuggish
German soldiers turn up and start separating the children from their
screaming mothers. Such is the brutal intensity of this scene
that you are left in something of a daze for the rest of the film
(which is probably just as well as it is all downhill from this
point). It is these two heart-stopping moments that remain firmly lodged
in the mind of any spectator long after watching the
film and say pretty well all that needed to be said about the vel
d'hiv roundup.
© James Travers 2011
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
In 1942, Joseph is 11. A Jew, he must go to school with a yellow
star sewn onto his chest. Although he is mocked by some, others
treat him kindly and he feels that he and his family have found a safe
refuge in Paris. At least that is what he thinks until 16th
July. On that day, French police raid the homes of thousands of
Jewish families like Joseph's and take them away to holding
centres to await deportation. Of the 13,000 Jews rounded up,
7,000 end up in the Winter Velodrome, including 4,000 children.
It is not long before the Jews are moved on to an internment camp, where their
ultimate fate suddenly becomes apparent...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.