"La rafle", written and directed by Rose Bosch is France's latest retell of the atrocities the country lived during the Nazi occupation. It was a time where French collaborators turned against their own, committing atrocities no decent society had faced in history. The thirteen thousand Jews who were rounded up had not committed any crimes. They were the innocent target of a misguided government who treated them as animals, foreign interlopers in the land where most Jews had lived for hundred of years.
The story centers around a young nurse, Annette Monod and a Jewish doctor, Dr. David Sheinbaum. Annette in the film represents exactly the opposite of the insane times she lived through. She could do but so much, but her concern about the fate of the people she was asked to oversee was genuine. Dr. Sheinbaum was at a disadvantage because being Jewish himself, he was doomed from the start. It was a time where decency disappeared and madness took over.
Melanie Laurent, whom we had admired previously, makes a wonderful contribution to the film. She stands alone against a stronger force that had only a thing in mind, to exterminate a race of people who were seen as enemies. Jean Reno has some good moments in the film. The supporting cast is composed of some of the best performers working in the French cinema today. Unfortunately, most of what is asked of them do not have them doing much. We see Sylvie Testud, Gad Elmaleh, usually seen in lighter fare. Also among the large cast one can see Rafaelle Agogue, Anne Brochet, Catherine Allegret, and many others.
One could only hope the madness from those days will never be repeated again.
The story centers around a young nurse, Annette Monod and a Jewish doctor, Dr. David Sheinbaum. Annette in the film represents exactly the opposite of the insane times she lived through. She could do but so much, but her concern about the fate of the people she was asked to oversee was genuine. Dr. Sheinbaum was at a disadvantage because being Jewish himself, he was doomed from the start. It was a time where decency disappeared and madness took over.
Melanie Laurent, whom we had admired previously, makes a wonderful contribution to the film. She stands alone against a stronger force that had only a thing in mind, to exterminate a race of people who were seen as enemies. Jean Reno has some good moments in the film. The supporting cast is composed of some of the best performers working in the French cinema today. Unfortunately, most of what is asked of them do not have them doing much. We see Sylvie Testud, Gad Elmaleh, usually seen in lighter fare. Also among the large cast one can see Rafaelle Agogue, Anne Brochet, Catherine Allegret, and many others.
One could only hope the madness from those days will never be repeated again.