(HEAVENLY CHOIR SINGING)
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
(SCHOOL BELL RINGING)
(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(SIGHS)
GIRL: Excuse me.
Hello?
Hi. Is anyone sitting here?
Uh, no.
-You're new here, aren't you? -Yeah.
You have anything on Wednesdays?
My friends and I started this new club
and we're always looking for new members.
Even if it's not totally your thing,
it's a good way to meet new people.
Right now, we're organizing a trip to D.C.
for this big human rights rally.
Thanks anyway.
Well, if you change your mind...
Hey.
You're Julian, right?
I'm Dillon.
My mom plays tennis with yours.
She told me to look out for you.
Oh. Okay.
DILLON: Hey, didn't you used to go to Beecher Prep?
JULIAN: Yeah. Long time ago.
I switched to Union Tech for middle school.
Union? Man, we used to crush you guys in the regionals.
Well, we sucked, so...
Anyway, um,
if your mom asks, I found you, okay?
And, word of advice, this is the loser table.
If you want, you can come sit with us tomorrow.
Oh, okay. Maybe I...
(INTERNET BY POST MALONE PLAYING)
♪ E yeah, E yeah, E yeah ♪
♪ Whoa, oh ♪
♪ E yeah, E yeah, E yeah ♪
♪ I just seen lil' mama Instagram and she flexin' ♪
♪ Don't care about your puppy ♪
♪ Just that... and them breastses ♪
♪ Oh, girl, you a model? ♪
♪ Damn, I never woulda guessed it ♪
♪ And if you tryna throw out all them vibes ♪
♪ I'ma catch 'em ♪
♪ The lifestyle we live is just too dangerous ♪
♪ Paranoid since they've been leakin' my... ♪
♪ Wonder if it'll come out on the web ♪
♪ And I can't help all these... ♪
♪ Takin' a photo and postin' that... ♪
♪ Comin' home late and I crawl into bed ♪
♪ She always be askin' me, "Where have you been?" ♪
♪ Whoa ♪
♪ The world has gone to... and we all know that ♪
♪ People freakin' out, like, hit the Prozac ♪
♪ Leon DeChino shorts got all the blogs mad ♪
♪ ...the internet, and you can quote that, whoa ♪
♪ Instalove ♪
♪ Well, if ignorance is bliss, then don't wake me up ♪
♪ And I'll probably be the last to know ♪
♪ 'Cause I don't get on the internet no more ♪
♪ Instalove ♪
♪ Well, if ignorance is bliss, then don't wake me up ♪
♪ And I'll probably be the last to know ♪
♪ 'Cause I don't get on the internet no more ♪
♪ Ooh, ooh ♪
(GIRLS CHATTER)
Hey, how's the new school?
(KEYS JINGLING)
(SONG CONTINUES ON HEADPHONES)
(SONG ENDS)
(SOFT CLUNKING)
Hello?
-Boo! -(JULIAN GASPS)
(CHUCKLES)
Grand-mere, you scared the crap out of me.
Aw.
Je suis desolee, mon cher.
I couldn't resist. (CHUCKLES)
So, viens ici! Allez, allez!
(SMOOCHES)
I come all the way from Paris
and that's the best you can do?
You weren't expecting me?
No. I knew you were coming, I just forgot it was today.
Mm.
I just saw your parents.
They had to go out for some fancy soiree
with your father's colleagues.
Yeah. What else is new?
Alors, c'est une table pour deux.
Uh, Dad said they're doing an exhibit
-of your paintings at the Met? -Mm.
"Retrospective."
It's a polite way of saying I'm old. (CHUCKLES)
-Grand-mere, I'm only 15. -Mm? Mm-hmm.
So, tell me about you.
What about this new school of yours?
Well, it's only been a week.
So I don't really know anyone yet.
Well, I met this kid today who seems okay.
Like, he's into sports and stuff.
He said that I could hang out with him
and his friends if I wanted to.
Mm, well, that's good, no?
I don't know. I guess.
Right now, I'm just trying to fit in.
It's kind of been my motto
ever since I left my old school.
GRAND-MERE: Mm.
What?
Julian, you did not leave your old school.
You were expelled.
For being cruel to another boy.
Whatever. You know what I mean.
If I learned anything from back then,
it's to just mind my own business.
Don't be mean, don't be nice.
Just... be normal.
And this is what you've learned?
To be normal?
What's wrong with normal?
Nothing.
And everything.
I, too, wanted to be normal when I was your age, but...
But what?
I'm sure your father has told you stories
about what happened to me when I was a young girl.
Some.
He says you don't really like to talk about it.
I don't.
But now, I think, for your sake, I must.
Do you see that glass paperweight over there?
Will you fetch that for me?
Do you know the name of the village
that I grew up in, in France?
Uh, Auberdeen-something-something?
(CHUCKLES) Aubervilliers-aux-Bois.
It's in the Margeride mountains
surrounded by this ancient forest called the Mernuit.
(MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
The Mernuit was a dark and scary place.
People would tell legends about the giant wolves
that roamed the woods during the long winters.
(HOWLING)
But in the spring, the leaves filled the trees,
the birds returned, and the forest came alive.
Then, in early May,
the most wondrous thing would happen.
The bluebells would come into bloom.
Oh,
it was magical.
-GRAND-MERE: Magique. -(GIRL LAUGHING)
To see it was to feel like
you had stepped into a fairy tale.
(DREAMY MUSIC PLAYING)
(GIRL SQUEALING)
(MOTHER SQUEALS)
It is perhaps my most beloved memory of my childhood.
Picnics with my parents amongst the fairy flowers.
(DREAMY MUSIC CONTINUES)
(CHUCKLING)
GIRL: Make me a bird, Papa.
Again?
-But faster this time. -FATHER: Okay, okay.
FAMILY: ♪ Little bird, little bird ♪
♪ How high will you fly? ♪
♪ As high as the sky ♪
♪ As the sky above ♪
♪ Little bird, little bird ♪
♪ How fast will you go? ♪
♪ As fast as a crow ♪
♪ As fast as a dove ♪
♪ Little bird, little bird ♪
♪ How far will you see? ♪
♪ As far as I wish ♪
♪ For now I am free ♪
GRAND-MERE: We lived in a beautiful flat
in a lovely part of town.
My father was a doctor, a surgeon,
and my mother taught mathematics.
We were not rich,
but we were certainly not poor.
(PIANO PLAYING)
I admit I was a bit spoiled.
Although, of course, I did not see it that way.
(LIGHTHEARTED MUSIC PLAYING)
-(CAR HONKING) -(LAUGHING)
MAN: Slowly, girls.
GRAND-MERE: When life is as good as mine was,
there is much you do not see.
(CAR HORN HONKING)
(PROJECTOR WHIRRING)
NARRATOR ON SCREEN: It has been two years
since Paris fell to Germany.
And to mark the occasion,
our beloved city was paid a visit
by none other than Herr Hitler himself.
Okay, he just looked at you.
(WHISPERS) He did not!
He just did it again.
(PERSON SHUSHES)
(GIGGLES QUIETLY)
(PROJECTOR CONTINUES WHIRRING)
(JOYFUL MUSIC PLAYING ON SCREEN)
MAN: We'll be in the cellar.
If anyone asks for me, I went home, sick with cold.
Okay?
Sounds better now.
I... I replaced the pressure roller.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
Oh. (CHUCKLES LIGHTLY)
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
(JOYFUL MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING ON SCREEN)
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
(UP-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYING ON SCREEN)
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
(LIGHTHEARTED MUSIC PLAYING)
GIRL: Hey.
Well?
Wait. Your new jacket? I love it.
GIRL 2: It looks so expensive.
Here comes gimp with a limp.
BULLY: Take his stick. (CHUCKLES)
That's it.
BULLY 2: Hop like a bunny.
He ought to be in the circus. Boy, fetch.
Ugh! Even his crutch reeks.
Hey, Tourteau, let's race.
GIRL 3: Poor Tourteau.
They're so mean.
It's not his fault his father gave him polio.
That's not how he got it. It was just bad luck.
Well, my mother says he got it
because his father works in the sewers.
It's definitely why he smells so bad.
(SCHOOL BELL RINGS)
GRAND-MERE: I didn't even know his name.
We all just called him Tourteau,
which means "crab," because of how he walked.
The truth is, I didn't think about him at all.
I cared only about my clothes,
my social life,
and my passion secrete.
My artwork.
BOY: "Let us enjoy the transient delight
"That fills our fairest day.
"Unhappy crowds cry out to you in prayers.
"Flow, Time, and set them free.
"Run through their days
"and through their ravening cares.
BOTH: "But leave the happy be."
TEACHER: Thank you, Claude.
That was very well read.
Lamartine is one of our Romantic poets.
He was part of a new movement that created a new tone
and feeling to French poetry.
Let's try to pay attention, Sara.
Yes, Mademoiselle Petitjean.
The poem is about man's frustration with time.
We want to control it, but of course we can't.
(SCHOOL BELL RINGING)
All right, see you all tomorrow.
(CHATTERING)
Sara, could you stay a moment?
Sorry about the note.
PETITJEAN: The drawing of the bird...
May I see it again?
Have you shown these to anyone?
Just my parents.
When I was your age,
I loved to write.
Poems, stories...
but I kept them to myself.
I thought if my friends knew,
or, God forbid, boys,
they'd tease me.
It wasn't what popular girls do, you know?
A gift is to be treasured, Sara.
Never stop drawing.
Okay?
You sound just like my father.
I consider that quite the compliment.
(CHUCKLES)
The world of reality has its limits.
The world of imagination
is boundless.
See you tomorrow.
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
(SHOP BELL JINGLES)
Hi, Madame Ballou.
Hi, Pierre.
One pain au chocolat, please.
MADAME BALLOU: Here.
Thank you.
Just take it and go.
(DISQUIETING MUSIC PLAYING)
SARA: What?
When?
Today.
This morning.
Don't worry.
I'll find another job.
I was getting a little bored of the university anyway.
SARA: How could they do that?
You're the best math professor they have.
It's complicated, Sara.
Not really.
Max, don't.
What?
(SIGHS QUIETLY)
There's a sign in the window of the bakery this afternoon.
It said "No Jews."
There's probably going to be more signs like that.
You said that wouldn't happen here.
That this was the unoccupied zone.
The free zone.
I'm afraid I was wrong.
MOTHER: It's like a bad storm, Sara.
We just have to weather it,
and eventually, it'll pass.
Last month in Paris,
the police arrested almost 13,000 Jews.
Many of them children.
Rounded them up in the velodrome,
shipped them to Drancy, to a labor camp.
Max, enough!
The French police?
There is no France.
Vichy takes its orders from Germany now.
You're scaring her.
Of course there's a France.
We're French citizens with papers to prove it.
I'm sorry,
but she needs to know what's happening.
In Lyon, Jews are made to wear yellow stars
like they do in the occupied zone.
Only foreign-born Jews. Religious Jews.
MAX: No, Rose, listen to yourself!
Do you think these bastards care where we were born?
Or... Or... Or whether we go to synagogue or not?
In their eyes, we're not French.
We're vermin, a disease to be wiped out.
-(SLAMS TABLE) -Enough!
(ROSE BREATHING SHAKILY)
Maman?
It'll be okay, Sara.
This is our country, and it always will be.
Tell her!
Tell her it's going to be okay.
(CRYING SOFTLY)
(SIGHS)
It's going to be okay.
PETITJEAN: The wildlife in Africa
is very different to ours here in France.
They have gazelles, hyenas...
(SCHOOL BELL RINGS)
All right, make sure to memorize
the information on the board
and we'll continue next week.
TOURTEAU: Sara?
Excuse me.
Oh, God, what is he doing?
GIRL: Is he coming over here?
I saw this under your desk.
I figured you must have dropped it.
Thanks.
You're welcome.
Somebody has a crush.
VINCENT: Is that a friend of yours?
Huh? Um, no.
I... I... I left something in class.
What was it?
Nothing.
May I?
Uh, no, don't, man.
Tourteau touched it with his crab claws.
Jerome, you're terrible.
VINCENT: Can I?
You drew all of these?
Uh, just when I'm bored.
It's stupid stuff.
You shouldn't say that.
Is this me?
Um...
I like it.
You shouldn't be so shy about your talent.
These are really good.
For a Jew.
-(BOOK THUDS) -(SARA GASPS)
(DISQUIETING MUSIC PLAYING)
WOMAN PUPPET: There! There he is, Officer.
The Jew who tricked us out of our money.
RABBI PUPPET: Jew? What Jew? I'm no Jew.
(AUDIENCE PROTESTS)
POLICE PUPPET: Give them back their money, Jew.
(RABBI PUPPET GROANING)
This will teach you not
-to steal from honest people. -(RABBI PUPPET GROANS)
Filthy Jew!
-(RABBI PUPPET GROANING) -(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
MAN ON RADIO: France must be purged of every Jew,
every communist, every Gaullist.
It's time we rebuild our country,
so that we too may know the pride they feel in Berlin.
-In Munich... -(RADIO TURNS OFF)
It's from Marseilles.
Aaron and Lucie were arrested.
ROSE: What?
But that's the free zone.
There was a roundup.
Apparently, they were taken
to a camp up north near Compiegne.
Petain is putting Darnand
in charge of the National Police.
A fascist in league with Hitler's SS,
-in charge of the police. -(GLASS SHATTERS)
(WATER RUNNING)
-(FAUCET TURNS OFF) -(ROSE SNIFFLES)
(SOFTLY) It's time, Rose.
We need to get out while we can.
Like Rabbi Bernstein and his wife.
(TEARFULLY) So, what, we just...
abandon our home?
Everything we own, everything we worked for?
-No, I just... I know. -Rose.
I just want to give it a little more time.
Get our things in order... (SNIFFLES)
and say our goodbyes.
There can be no goodbyes, Rose.
You know that.
No one must know.
(FLOOR CREAKS)
(SOLEMN MUSIC PLAYING)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
MAX: That's beautiful, Sara.
Why do people hate us so much?
Not all people.
You need to remember that.
But some do.
Some. Some, yes.
(MAX SIGHS)
What I believe
is that all people have a light inside them.
And that light lets them see into other people's hearts.
But some people have lost it.
They have darkness inside them,
so that's all they see in others.
They hate us because they can't see us.
As long as we shine our light,
we win.
(ROSE SNIFFLES)
We're sorry, Sara.
We know this is going to be very hard for you.
When do we need to leave?
How soon?
MAX: Soon.
By next week, the latest.
It won't be forever.
Do you promise?
Promise.
Now I need a promise from you.
I want you to keep wearing your winter boots to school.
What?
I've been waiting to wear my new shoes all winter.
Oh, please, little bird.
Why?
Because I want you to.
Okay?
Fine.
-Promise? -Yes.
Thank you.
ROSE: Good night, Sara.
We love you.
(LIGHTHEARTED MUSIC PLAYING)
(CHILDREN CHATTERING)
(LAUGHING)
-Morning, Pastor Luc. -Morning, Ms. Blum.
PETITJEAN: So then, A squared
plus B squared
-equals C squared. -(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Come in.
Mademoiselle Petitjean, may I have a word?
Of course.
(STUDENTS WHISPERING)
(PASTOR LUC AND PETITJEAN WHISPERING)
Yeah.
Children, I have to leave for a few minutes.
So I want you all to behave until I'm back.
Sara, Ruth,
I need you to come with me. Quickly, please.
And bring your coats.
Come on.
Why?
I'll explain everything outside.
To the rest of you, stay in your seats.
(DOGS BARKING)
There's been a roundup of the Jews
in Aubervilliers-aux-Bois.
We believe German officers
-are on their way here now. -SARA: Here?
PETITJEAN: A maquisard is going
to take you and the other Jewish children
to hide in the woods.
(FOREBODING MUSIC PLAYING)
Sara, where's your coat?
I left it in the art room.
PETITJEAN: Here, take this.
Okay.
SARA: I'm scared. RUTH: Me too.
I know you are, but it's gonna be all right.
-(DOGS BARKING) -(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
PASTOR LUC: Quickly, you two. Come.
Children, this is Antoine.
He will keep you safe.
But you must do exactly as he says.
Do you understand?
ANTOINE: I need you all to stay very quiet
and to run very fast.
Can you do that?
(FOREBODING MUSIC CONTINUES)
(ENGINE RUMBLING)
(SOLDIERS SHOUTING)
COMMANDER: Move into the next courtyard!
Hurry! Hurry!
-(DISTANT WHISTLE) -ANTOINE: Now!
Oh, I'm sorry.
None of these children came to school today.
Someone must have tipped them off.
They were taken away by the teachers.
They're still on the ground somewhere.
Thank you, young man.
Your teachers could learn from your example.
-Find them. -(DOGS BARKING)
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(CHILDREN WHIMPERING)
(DOGS BARKING)
(SOLDIERS SHOUTING)
(TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(CLAMORING)
-(GIRL SCREAMS) -ANTOINE: Get off her!
(CLAMORING CONTINUES)
SOLDIER 1: Behind you!
ANTOINE: There goes another one!
SOLDIER 2: I got one here!
(BARKING)
(PANTING)
(DISTANT BARKING)
-(CONTINUES PANTING) -(DISTANT SHOUTING)
Little girl!
Did you see one come this way?
PETITJEAN: Right, now go back to your classrooms.
Come away from the windows right now.
Go back to your classroom right now.
(FOREBODING MUSIC PLAYING)
(GRUNTS)
(GUN COCKS)
Vive I'humanite!
(BREATHING SHAKILY)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(CHILDREN WHIMPER SOFTLY)
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
COMMANDER: It's all right. WOMAN: Absolutely.
COMMANDER: We're taking you to your parents.
Everybody in, please.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CONTINUES)
(WIND BLOWING)
(PANTING)
For the love of God, let them go, I beg you.
Lying scum.
I should shoot you right now.
Don't, please!
Don't do this. They're only children.
COMMANDER: They're Jews.
We have our orders.
If you have any brains, you'll go back inside
and mind your own business.
These children are our business.
No, these are my students. I'm staying with them.
PASTOR LUC: Marie...
(PETITJEAN GRUNTS)
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CONTINUES)
(DISTANT SHOUTING)
(DOGS BARKING)
One of the children is missing.
There are 14 names on our list,
but only 13 children accounted for.
One's missing.
(CHILDREN WHIMPERING)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(DOOR CREAKING)
TOURTEAU: Sara.
The soldiers are still searching for you.
You need to come with me right now.
I know a way out.
(DISTANT SHOUTING)
(SHUSHING)
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(DISTANT SHOUTING)
(WIND HOWLING)
(WATER DRIPPING)
TOURTEAU: I'm sorry. It's the safest way.
SARA: Where are we?
My father showed me this once.
He's worked in these sewers for years.
(WATER DRIPPING)
It... It only goes down about as deep as your knees.
I think.
(TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(SARA TREMBLING)
Here.
I'm... I'm fine.
You're freezing.
And it's another six kilometers to Dannevilliers.
What's in Dannevilliers?
My home.
(WATER SLOSHING)
What about my parents?
What if something bad happened to my parents?
I'm sure they're fine. Okay?
Sara, please, we really need to keep moving.
(TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(WIND BLOWING)
(DOOR SHUTS)
(VEHICLE APPROACHING)
See that house past the barn? That's ours.
Only I'm thinking it might not be safe for you to stay there.
There's a nosy old couple who live right above us.
My father thinks they're Nazi informants.
Don't worry.
You'll be safe in the barn.
(DOOR CREAKS)
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
(GASPS) Sorry.
A mouse.
If it was safe to stay at my house, you...
It's fine. Really.
This is nice.
(ANIMALS SQUEAKING)
What is that?
That... That sound?
Um, that would be the bats.
They nest in the rafters sometimes.
They're harmless, I swear.
Oh, there's the hayloft.
I was thinking that's where you could hide.
Um...
Oh, it's fine, really.
I'm stronger than I look.
(SOFT MUSIC CONTINUES)
We'll stack some hay bales along the edge
and you'll be hidden completely.
All right?
I'll be right back.
You're leaving?
Just to tell my parents what's going on.
SARA: Tourteau?
I...
I just wanted to...
Well, if you hadn't...
It's okay.
You're safe now.
There is one thing, though.
Yeah?
Maybe call me by my real name instead of Tourteau?
SARA: I... Of course.
See, I know your last name is Beaumier
'cause they always sit us next to each other, but...
It's Julien.
Sorry.
Thank you, Julien.
-Julien? -Mm.
Your father knew how special that name was to me.
So what happened next?
Next, I met his parents.
Vivienne and Jean-Paul.
VIVIENNE: We'll do everything we can to find your parents.
And until then, you stay with us, okay?
It's not the Ritz,
but, uh, we can spiff it up a little.
Can't we, Julien?
VIVIENNE: Here.
Try to eat something.
I'll, um... fix you up a bed.
-(BATS CHITTERING) -(WINGS FLUTTER)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(SOLEMN MUSIC PLAYING)
(WIND BLOWING)
(CRYING)
Maman, Papa, where are you?
-(WINGS FLUTTER) -(BIRD CHIRPING)
(WOLVES HOWLING AND BARKING)
(WOLF GROWLS)
GRAND-MERE: I was instructed not to leave the barn
under any circumstances.
For fear of being found out by the nosy neighbors.
The Lafleurs.
No one could know of my existence.
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
(OWL HOOTING)
(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES)
Sara?
I, um...
I brought you something.
(BATS SQUEAKING)
I remember how you like to draw.
SARA: Here.
Thanks, Julien.
I also brought, um, some books.
And your schoolwork so you don't fall behind.
I could teach today's lesson if you want.
Or not.
You're being so nice to me.
I was never very nice to you.
At least my friends certainly weren't.
I guess I always felt you were...
I don't know...
different.
Maybe you're wrong.
I doubt it.
I'm really smart.
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
Is that so?
I mean, I don't like to brag, but...
(CHUCKLES) Oh, no, of course not.
-(JULIEN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) -(SARA LAUGHS)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
GRAND-MERE: Vivienne and Jean-Paul tried their best.
But as days became weeks,
there was still no word of my parents.
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
(RAIN PATTERING)
I could feel myself losing track of time.
Every day, the same.
There was only one thing I could look forward to.
My lessons with Julien.
JULIEN: So if A and B are distinct points,
and AC plus CB equals AB,
then C must lie on...
AB.
Not bad, Blum.
(CHUCKLES LIGHTLY)
Okay, so what we can get from that information
is that CAB is a right-angled triangle.
-And that information... -Hey, what's this?
...means that C... Oh.
I, um...
I thought you might like to hang it up.
Make the place feel a little more like a bedroom.
I love it.
Charlie Chaplin's my favorite.
I know.
You do?
Well, I mean, he's everyone's favorite, right?
We should get back to the lesson.
In a minute.
You promised me a gossip report first.
Remember?
So I did.
Ah, let's see. Uh...
Well, you were right about Jean-Marc.
He does have a crush on Simone.
I heard him telling Luc in biology.
I knew it. What else?
Let me think.
Yvette and Agnes are still fighting
over the solo in the spring recital.
-(CHUCKLES) Of course. -Of course.
Christophe got in trouble for snoring
-in Madame Lucienne's class. -(LAUGHS)
Oh! And they finally figured out who hid
that sardine in Monsieur Gillot's desk.
-It was... -Eugene.
You told me last week
he flunked Gillot's surprise test.
Plus, his father works in the cannery.
Impressive.
(CHUCKLES) Simple maths.
Speaking of which...
(SIGHS) Fine.
Okay, so if angle A and angle B
are complementary
-and angle A is twice... -Julien...
Thank you again for this.
I'm glad you like it.
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
GRAND-MERE: In town, the situation
was only growing worse.
Vincent and some other boys from the school
had been recruited to join the Milice,
a local Nazi militia.
They were given guns and areas of town to patrol,
with instructions to report any suspicious behavior.
(ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING ON SCREEN)
NARRATOR ON SCREEN: As resistance groups
continue to grow across France,
Germany warns that it will crush
any efforts to undermine the occupation.
(PROJECTOR WHIRRING)
Julien,
if anyone asks for me,
you know what to say.
(PROJECTOR WHIRRING)
(MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING ON SCREEN)
MAN 1: In the countryside, we have the advantage.
We know the terrain, the best roads to ambush.
MAN 2: My contact in Toulouse says
they're shipping us more ammunition.
But it'll take a few more days.
MAN 1: No, it has to be sooner.
The answer is no.
(MUSIC PLAYING ON SCREEN)
The underground is only for those
willing to die for freedom.
That's not why I need to see you.
Then what?
I need your help.
VIVIENNE: Are you sure you can trust him?
I'm positive.
So he said it'll take a few weeks
for the woman he knows to forge the identity papers.
But once we have those,
Georges will arrange to take you
to an abbey in Le Moustier.
The nuns there have been organizing
crossings into Switzerland.
Switzerland?
It's five days on foot through the Alps,
but they've gotten a lot of Jews out that way.
You wouldn't be alone.
Honestly, I feel safer here.
Oh, my sweet.
I'm not sure you are.
After her victory in Orleans,
Joan was able to convince Charles VII...
JULIEN: Managed to convince Charles VII
to let her join the Army.
TEACHER: ...led by the Duke of Alencon.
TEACHER: ...with the aim of recapturing
bridges along the Loire.
JULIEN: ...with the aim of recapturing
the bridges along the Loire.
Joan then led a small...
Have you ever been there?
The Loire?
Switzerland.
I've never even been to Paris.
You know I'd go with you if I thought
I wouldn't slow you down.
You've really never been to Paris?
I've never even left Dannevilliers
except to go to school.
What?
Where are you going? (CHUCKLES)
Sara?
SARA: Well?
How do you like Paris so far?
(STEERING WHEEL SQUEAKS)
It's, um...
It's great.
Up ahead is the Place de l'Etoile.
Do you see it?
Yes?
Julien. Here, take the wheel.
Come on.
Just use your imagination.
Just picture it in your mind's eye...
the Arc de Triomphe.
It's a beautiful archway,
over 50 meters tall.
And there,
the Place de la Concorde.
Do you see all those lovely cafes?
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
The flower shops?
Julien?
You really want me to say yes, don't you?
It's only fun if you try.
The world of reality has its limits.
The world of imagination is boundless.
-Keep trying. -(CAR DOOR SHUTS)
We're driving down a quaint little street
in the sixieme arrondissement.
-And now we're turning... -(WHEELS CREAK)
(CHUCKLES) ...along the banks of the River Seine.
That's the Saint-Michel bridge.
Just up there.
-Wait, I kind of see it now. -You do?
-Really? -Really.
(DISTANT CHATTERING)
And there, to the left, there's Notre-Dame.
(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES)
Isn't it incredible?
It really is.
Can I admit something embarrassing?
I do this at least three times a week.
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
You try spending every single day alone in a barn.
Watch out for that lady!
-(TIRES SCREECH) -(MUSIC STOPS)
Just for that, we're skipping the Eiffel Tower.
(GASPS) No.
Please. Not the Eiffel Tower.
(BOTH LAUGH)
Fine.
(TIRES CREAKING)
(GENTLE MUSIC RESUMES)
GRAND-MERE: The next three weeks
passed very strangely.
Time seemed to crawl.
And yet, it also seemed to move very, very fast.
Almost too fast.
(WONDROUS MUSIC PLAYING)
See that leopard over there?
See how its spots are all circular?
Yeah.
That's because we're in East Africa.
In the south, the spots would be square.
(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)
-You're making that up. -I am not.
-Dang. -(BOTH LAUGH)
Wait, Sara, Sara, see over there?
See them? They're zebras.
SARA: Oh, they're beautiful.
What's up there?
(CONVERSATION FADES OUT)
(WONDROUS MUSIC CONTINUES)
(WHIRRING)
(PLEASANT FILM MUSIC PLAYING ON PHONOGRAPH)
(CLATTERS)
(LAUGHS)
-(WHEEL SQUEAKING) -(BODY THUDS)
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS ON PHONOGRAPH)
GRAND-MERE: I was anxious about leaving for Switzerland.
I knew I would miss those evenings with Julien.
It was as if
we had created our own little world,
even as the world outside grew darker and darker.
JULIEN: Georges, it's me.
I'm here for the papers.
(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
(CLATTERS)
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
COMMANDER: They were up to something.
MILITIAMAN 1: (WHISTLES) What have we here?
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
Look at this.
(LAUGHTER)
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
(GASPS)
-We're gonna send a message. -(CHUCKLES)
This is what happens to traitors.
(OMINOUS MUSIC CONTINUES)
Come on.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
Hurry up!
Let's go. Let's go.
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(GRUNTS SOFTLY)
(LAUGHTER)
MILITIAMAN 2: Whoo! (LAUGHS)
-(BREATHING HEAVILY) -MILITIAMAN 2: Whoo!
(VINCENT GRUNTS)
(TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)
-(GUN FIRING) -VINCENT: Look out!
-(THUNDER RUMBLES) -(RAIN PATTERING)
JULIEN: I hate them.
(VOICE BREAKS) I hate them so much.
I'm so sorry, Julien.
I just...
I just can't believe he's gone.
Remember the bird I told you about?
I drew her for you, so you can meet her too.
She always comes when I need her.
She brings me hope.
♪ Little bird, little bird ♪
♪ How high will you fly? ♪
♪ As high as the sky ♪
♪ As the sky above ♪
♪ Little bird, little bird ♪
♪ How far will you see? ♪
♪ As far as I wish ♪
♪ For now ♪
♪ I am free♪
(JULIEN CRIES SOFTLY)
JULIEN: Thank you.
(WINGS FLAPPING)
(CHIRPS)
GRAND-MERE: My plan for being smuggled out
disappeared with Georges.
The attack on the cinema was only the beginning
of a much darker phase of the occupation.
The killing had begun.
-SOLDIER: Attention! -(SOLDIERS STOMP)
GRAND-MERE: The Germans set up new headquarters
right in Dannevilliers.
VIVIENNE: Jean-Paul.
GRAND-MERE: Now we had far more to worry about
than just the nosy Lafleurs.
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
Nazis were everywhere,
on every road in and out of the village.
There was no way I could reach Switzerland now.
The Beaumiers tried to make my life
as bearable as possible.
Vivienne continued to keep me fed,
bring clean clothes
and of course, keep me company for an hour or two.
But as summer came and went,
it was Julien's nightly visits that sustained me.
The barn had become my whole world.
And Julien, its center.
Damn. Here.
GRAND-MERE: We had in common one crucial thing.
(WOMAN LAUGHING)
(TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)
We had both seen how much hate people are capable of.
And how much courage it took to be kind.
Because when kindness can cost you your life,
it becomes like a miracle.
It is the light in the darkness
that Papa talked about.
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
I began to see Julien as more than my rescuer
or even my friend.
He was my light.
(OWL HOOTING)
Special trip tonight, Mademoiselle Blum.
How lovely.
Where to this time?
You'll see.
(CRACKLING)
Close your eyes, okay?
-(CLICKS) -(PROJECTOR WHIRRING)
(CAR DOOR SHUTS)
How would you like to visit New York tonight?
What?
Sure.
Okay, then.
Open your eyes.
(DREAMY MUSIC PLAYING)
(CHUCKLING IN AWE)
SARA: Oh, Julien.
It's so beautiful.
(PEDESTRIANS CHATTERING)
(STREETCAR BELL CLANGS)
(DREAMY MUSIC CONTINUES)
(CAR HORN HONKING)
Oh, look at the theaters.
(GIGGLES)
(CAR HORNS BLARE)
What's that?
That's the Empire State Building.
(STREETCAR BELL CLANGS)
Tourteau.
Don't you ever bathe?
I thought crabs liked water.
PASTOR LUC: Monsieur Beaumier...
May I have a word in my office?
The teachers and I have been talking,
and we've decided to place you in advanced mathematics.
You will be with the older children.
But I suspect they'll be the ones trying to keep up.
Thank you, sir.
PASTOR LUC: Thank you, Julien.
There's not much brings me joy these days.
You can go back to class now.
(J'ATTENDRAI BY RINA KETTY PLAYING ON PHONOGRAPH)
Bye.
(J'ATTENDRAI CONTINUES PLAYING)
(SONG STOPS)
(J'ATTENDRAI BY RINA KETTY PLAYING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)
It's early.
Is everything okay?
(GASPS) My sketchbook!
I was in Pastor Luc's and I saw it on the shelf.
SARA: Thank you!
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
I was so stupid back then.
VINCENT: (DISTANTLY) I'm just telling you.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
-What... -Shh!
(WHISPERING) Go back up and hide.
And don't come out no matter what. Go, quick.
(INDISTINCT TALKING)
VINCENT: He's in there.
(DOOR CREAKS)
Tourteau?
Hey, Tourteau.
What's going on, Tourteau?
What are you... What are you doing here?
Uh, I was just working on my father's car.
I saw you sneaking out of Pastor Luc's office
with something.
What?
Don't play dumb with us, cripple.
I left my book there. So what?
-Yeah, bullshit. -JULIEN: I swear.
Please, it's in my house. I can show you right now.
-They asked me to fix it. -You're a bad liar.
Please. No.
(JULIEN GROANING)
JEROME: What'd you steal from Pastor Luc?
Nothing. I just left my book. (CRIES OUT)
You think you're smarter than everyone, don't you?
No.
You're pathetic, you know that?
Weak, deformed, useless.
Do you know what Nazis do with people like you?
(YELLS) Do you?
They exterminate them like Jews.
I should do the human race a favor...
and put you out of your misery right now.
(JULIEN GROANING)
All right, he's learned his lesson, Vincent.
Shut your mouth! He hasn't!
The hell are you looking at, freak?
Vive l'humanite.
What did you say?
(BATS SCREECHING)
What...
The hell is that?
They're bats! Let's get out of here!
(SOBBING SOFTLY)
It's okay, you're okay.
Go back to the loft.
-They could come back soon. -It's okay.
-They've gone. It's okay. -I said, go to the loft!
-What? -What are you, stupid? Go!
-I just wanted... -I don't care what you want.
It's not always about you.
You know what happens if they find you here?
Do you? They'll arrest my parents.
They'll execute them! Do you understand?
-I didn't think... -Yeah, of course you didn't.
All you think about is yourself.
You're still the same spoiled brat
that sat next to me for five years
and didn't even know my name.
(CRYING) Please.
Please. I'm sorry.
Please.
Julien.
Just... Just go back to the loft, Sara. Please.
(SOBBING)
(LOCK SQUEAKS)
(GRIM MUSIC PLAYING)
SARA: It's been days since he's come by.
He just needs more time to heal.
He got so mad at me.
He was just as mad at himself.
The truth is, he should never have taken your sketchbook.
It was too risky for all of us.
He did it for me.
Well, in dark times,
those small things remind us of our humanity.
Vive l'humanite.
GRAND-MERE: Another week passed,
then another.
And still, Julien stayed away.
VIVIENNE: Go around the middle,
through, up, and over.
Through, around...
(DOOR OPENS)
You.
-Can we talk about... -I'd rather not.
Okay.
I hate...
I hate that you saw me like that.
Like what?
Like some weakling.
A helpless, pathetic weakling.
-Julien... -I know it's hard to believe,
but I used to run fast.
Before I got polio, I was the fastest kid
in my whole class.
And I still remember what it felt like
to run like that.
-To be strong. -You are strong.
-(SCOFFS) -You are.
And brave.
You're the bravest person I've ever met.
Why? 'Cause I walk with a crutch?
A crutch doesn't make me brave,
it makes me walk.
That's not what I meant.
Could you stop talking, please?
I thought about what you said.
-How I'm selfish. -I was just upset.
-I didn't mean it. -It's true.
The truth is, had you been the one that needed saving,
I probably wouldn't have done it.
-You don't know that. -No, I do.
And I'm sorry.
But you did try to save me, though.
(SCOFFS) I would have gotten us both killed.
Probably.
Still, it was brave of you.
-Take a compliment. -(CHUCKLES) Fine.
-Thank you. -There we go.
Um, should we get back to the game now?
Okay.
Can I just say one more thing?
What?
Belote.
-Look who finally won a hand. -(CHUCKLES)
I wouldn't get too used to it.
(SARA CHUCKLES)
GRAND-MERE: Winter came, and with it, many changes.
More and more soldiers arrived.
The main roads became more dangerous.
So, Julien started taking the long way to school.
(PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING)
There were other changes, too.
Before I knew it, it was spring again.
Impossible as it seemed,
I'd been in hiding for over a year.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(SOFT FOOTSTEPS)
(DOOR OPENS)
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
♪ Happy birthday, dear Sara ♪
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
I didn't even realize it was today.
VIVIENNE: Happy birthday, my sweet.
Is it really chocolate?
JEAN-PAUL: Vivienne has been saving ration cards
for months.
Make a wish, Blum.
(BLOWS)
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you.
It's beautiful.
JEAN-PAUL: Right, let's eat some cake.
SARA: How'd you get it past the Lafleurs?
We did something a bit naughty...
God forgive us.
Last week, I had a tooth pulled.
My doctor gave me sleeping powder for the pain.
I had a little extra.
So maman put it
in their milk this afternoon. (CHUCKLES)
We could hear them snoring through the walls.
(ALL LAUGHING)
Mm. Now, I was told there'd be dancing.
Mm. But of course.
(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS ON RADIO, SOMETIMES I'M HAPPY)
Madame.
Monsieur.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
Thank you for my present.
-It's a bird. -(CHUCKLES) I can see that.
ANNOUNCER ON RADIO: Radio London interrupts
this broadcast to bring you developing news.
Monte Cassino has been liberated by the Allies.
(VIVIENNE GASPS)
The 1st German Parachute Division
-has been destroyed... -(VIVIENNE GASPS)
...clearing the path to Rome for the Allies.
-France will be next. -(BOTH LAUGHING)
That means the war will be over soon.
ANNOUNCER: ...occupied Europe to be rescued
from Hitler's grasp.
-(ALL CHUCKLING) -And now,
your regularly scheduled program.
-(CRICKETS AND BIRDS CHIRPING) -(ANIMAL HOOTING)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
JULIEN: (WHISPERS) Sara.
What are you doing here?
It must be after midnight.
I got one more present for you.
(DOOR LOCK RATTLES)
A walk?
Are you okay?
Yeah.
I just haven't been outside in...
Come on.
GRAND-MERE: I'd never been there at night before.
All those stories of giant wolves
would've scared me away.
But that night,
I felt no fear.
(SENTIMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
SARA: The Mernuit.
Happy birthday.
There's, um...
There's something I've gotta say,
and I feel like if I don't do it now,
then I'll never be able to.
Here's the thing...
If the war is really going to end soon...
Well, when it does,
I want you to know that in the future
that I see for myself, I...
(GULPS)
Well, you're a part of it.
-And I'm wondering if maybe... -(SOFTLY) Yes.
I haven't even asked the question yet.
I know the answer.
Yes.
(SENTIMENTAL MUSIC CONTINUES)
You should go.
The sun will be up soon.
-Yeah. -(SARA CHUCKLES)
Oh, wait, I have something for you too.
Really?
Yeah.
I left something for you.
It's in the middle.
See you tomorrow.
(CHUCKLING)
Vive l'humanite.
SARA: "I used to be afraid of the night.
"But now I see it as my time for listening
"to the soul of the world
"telling me its secrets, over and over,
"like a song,
"'You love Julien.
"'You love Julien.'
"'Yes,' I answer. 'I know.
"'I love Julien.'"
GRAND-MERE: I did.
I loved him.
I wasn't brave enough to say it that night.
But I decided, the next night, I would.
And maybe he would say he loved me too.
JULIEN: I love you, Sara Blum.
VIVIENNE: Julien, you'll be late for school.
Good morning, maman.
Someone's in a good mood.
Why not? The sun is shining, the bluebells are blooming.
Bluebells?
See you tonight, maman.
GRAND-MERE: I'm not sure what made Julien take
the main road to school that morning.
Perhaps he was feeling brave.
Perhaps he had other things on his mind.
(DOG BARKING DISTANTLY)
(TEARING)
In order, ma'am.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
...much shorter than they...
(VINCENT WHISPERS)
You there! Cripple!
Papers.
I'm just on my way to school, the Ecole Lafayette.
We can take you.
Wait. My bag.
SOLDIER 1: Come on, move. Let's get in.
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
SOLDIER 2: Up, come on.
(MAN GROANS)
(TRUCK DOOR SHUTS)
(TENSE MUSIC INTENSIFYING)
(STEAM HISSING)
WORKER: Jean-Paul.
It's your son, Julien.
What? What happened?
The police took him away.
-(MACHINE WHISTLES) -(STEAM HISSES)
(TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(VEHICLE APPROACHING)
(GASPS)
(ENGINE STOPS)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
VINCENT: It's Sara, right?
(GUN COCKS)
Little missing Jewess.
(WOOD CREAKS)
(SARA WHIMPERS)
(GUNFIRE CONTINUES)
(PANTING)
(TWIG SNAPS)
(FIRES GUN)
(YELLS IN FRUSTRATION)
(GUN FIRING)
(WOLF GROWLS)
(TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)
-(BIRDS CHIRPING) -(GUN FIRES)
(GRUNTS)
No, don't, don't, don't!
(WHIMPERING)
So that's where you were this whole time,
hiding in Tourteau's barn?
(CRYING) His name is Julien.
Put your hands up. Put them up!
(SOBS)
Please.
Turn around.
Turn around!
SARA: Coward.
(WOLVES HOWLING IN DISTANCE)
(WOLVES GROWLING)
(GROWLING)
(SNARLS, BARKS)
(VINCENT SCREAMING)
(EARS RINGING)
(PANTING)
(RINGING FADES)
(DISTANT HOWLING)
(BREATHING SHAKILY)
(FRANTIC MUSIC PLAYING)
Halt!
Stop the truck!
(BRAKES SQUEAL)
Where are you going?
-Check the load. -WOMAN: Why are we stopping?
(DOOR RATTLES)
Vivienne? Jean-Paul?
(DOOR RATTLES)
(FRANTIC MUSIC CONTINUES)
Vivienne? Jean-Paul?
(DOOR OPENS)
Stay where you are.
Not another step or I'll shoot.
Okay, but please...
What are you doing here?
I'm a friend of Julien Beaumier.
MADAME LAFLEUR: What do you want with us?
Nothing. I just need to find Vivienne.
Please.
-Don't make me shoot you. -Stay there.
MAN: Sara?
Rabbi Bernstein?
Bernstein, you know this girl?
This is Sara Blum.
Her family lived down the street from us.
I don't understand.
Lafleur, please,
put the gun away.
Sara, what are you doing here?
The Beaumiers were hiding me in their barn.
They thought you were informants for the Nazis.
Sara, the Lafleurs have been hiding us
in their attic for almost two years now.
Today, we're being smuggled out
by the Armee Juive.
You should come with us.
No, I can't. I have to find Vivienne.
Julien's been arrested.
OFFICER: I just told you.
There have been no arrests today.
You are lying.
No, he's just upset.
-He's... -JEAN-PAUL: I'm sorry.
It's okay.
JEROME: Madame. Madame.
I know your son.
He was taken this morning.
They put him in a truck
along with some patients from the hospital.
They're heading to a prison camp
-in the mountains. -VIVIENNE: Oh!
He can still be saved...
for the right money.
That poor boy.
Bernstein, we haven't got much time.
He's waiting downstairs.
We'll look after the girl till the Beaumiers return.
Good luck, old friend.
You write to us when you get to Jerusalem.
God will remember your kindness.
(SENTIMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
MONSIEUR LAFLEUR: It's Vivienne.
SARA: Vivienne!
-Sara! -SARA: Vivienne!
It's okay.
SARA: The Lafleurs have been hiding the Bernsteins there.
We need to go.
How much money do you need?
So much more than we have.
(VIVIENNE CRYING)
We'll take my car.
Sara, you should go up to our attic.
Let's go.
DRIVER: Everybody, out!
Come on! Everybody, out!
GUARD: Get out! Let's go!
DRIVER: Get out. MAN: What's going on?
GUARD: This road is closed so you're being diverted.
Better take a little break now.
Come on! Out! Let's go!
DRIVER: All out! GUARD: Move!
-Out! Come on! Move! -Quickly.
Out, everybody, come on. Follow him.
-Let's go! -DRIVER: Up the side.
DRIVER: That's all. GUARD: Let's go.
(MELANCHOLY MUSIC PLAYING)
(BIRD CHIRPING)
(WHISPERING) There's nine of us, three of them.
Tell the others. On my word.
GUARD: Come on, quicker.
(BRAKES SQUEAL)
VIVIENNE: Please.
My son is on that truck.
Please.
Not anymore. They continued on foot.
No, no, no. No.
Please.
Please. I have money.
Money for his release.
Come on.
(MELANCHOLY MUSIC CONTINUES)
♪ Little bird ♪
♪ How high will you fly? ♪
-(BIRD CHIRPING) -♪ Just as high as the sky ♪
♪ As the sky above you ♪
GUARD: Move.
BOTH: ♪ Little bird ♪
♪ Little bird ♪
♪ How fast will you go? ♪
♪ As fast as a dove ♪
♪ As fast as a crow♪
Run!
They're getting away!
-(GUNS FIRING) -SARA: ♪ Little bird ♪
♪ Little bird ♪
(DISTANT GUNSHOTS)
-♪ How far will you...♪ -No! No!
SARA: ♪ ...see? ♪
(GUN FIRING)
♪ Just as far ♪
VIVIENNE: No!
♪ As I wish ♪
-♪ For now I am free ♪ -(JULIEN PANTING)
-(GUN FIRES) -(MUSIC STOPS)
♪ For now I am free ♪
(MUFFLED SHOUTING)
VIVIENNE: No!
-(MELANCHOLY MUSIC RESUMES) -Julien!
(VIVIENNE CRYING)
-MONSIEUR LAFLEUR: Vivienne! -Get her back in the car now!
Get her back, or I'll shoot.
No, no, no! Please, no! No.
Please.
Vivienne.
Get back to the car.
-(VIVIENNE SOBBING) -Please. We'll leave.
Quick, quick, quick.
(CONTINUES SOBBING)
(BRAKES SQUEAL)
(ENGINE STOPS)
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
(DOOR OPENS)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(VIVIENNE SIGHS)
(VIVIENNE SOBS)
GRAND-MERE: The Beaumiers returned to the woods...
VIVIENNE: Julien!
GRAND-MERE: ...once the soldiers had moved on.
They searched for Julien all through the night
and for many days that followed.
Julien!
GRAND-MERE: They continued to cling to the hope
that perhaps Julien had gotten away.
JEAN-PAUL: Julien?
GRAND-MERE: But deep down, they knew better.
Still, somehow, they put aside their immeasurable sorrow
to take care of me.
I stayed with them through the end of the war.
Hidden, of course.
But not in the barn.
I could never set foot in there again.
(PROJECTOR WHIRRING)
ANNOUNCER ON RADIO: The final capitulation
of the Nazi state...
GRAND-MERE: In August,
the Nazi occupation finally ended.
The Germans were driven out of France.
And when the Allied troops gathered
at the Arc de Triomphe,
you could hear the whole world cheer.
(UPLIFTING MUSIC PLAYING)
I continued to live with the Beaumiers,
who'd become like family.
I was glad to be back at school.
But nothing was the same.
The weeks passed in a fog.
I couldn't stop thinking about all that had happened to me.
And to Julien.
(PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING)
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
Then one day in early November...
It was Papa.
He was back.
(EMOTIONAL MUSIC PLAYING)
He said he was still looking for maman.
That he and another doctor had evaded the roundup
by hiding in the morgue.
I introduced him to the Beaumiers,
who he could not stop thanking.
That night, Papa took me aside.
Somehow, I knew it was about maman.
Sara...
GRAND-MERE: He had tried to keep the truth from me,
but he realized he could not.
He explained that on the day of the roundup...
SOLDIER: You!
GRAND-MERE: ...maman had been arrested.
SOLDIER: Stop! Stop right there!
GRAND-MERE: She was put on a train to Drancy.
(DOGS BARKING)
And from there,
sent to the concentration camp in Auschwitz.
He didn't know how long she was kept there.
Only that this is where she was put to death.
I think a part of me knew she hadn't survived.
In the white bird, I had always felt her spirit,
gifting me hope when I had none.
Papa and I stayed with the Beaumiers
for a short while,
until he found work at a hospital in Paris,
the city that would become my new home.
You will always have a mother in me.
I love you.
(WHISTLE BLOWS)
(EMOTIONAL MUSIC CONTINUES)
GRAND-MERE: I came back to visit the Beaumiers often.
Throughout my life.
And when I married your grandfather,
they, along with my papa,
walked me down the aisle.
(SINGING IN HEBREW, EREV SHEL SHOSHANIM)
(PRIEST AND CONGREGATION CHANTING IN HEBREW)
(SINGING CONTINUES)
ALL: Mazel tov!
(APPLAUSE)
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
GRAND-MERE: You forget many things in life.
But you never forget kindness.
Like love...
it stays with you forever.
And I suppose that, mon cher, is the end of my story.
Did I upset you?
Yeah, but in a good way.
And do you understand why I needed to tell you
this story now, Julian?
(EXHALES)
(TUTS) Oh.
-It's okay, I've got it. -Ah!
Merci, mon cher.
(TENDER MUSIC PLAYING)
MAN: (ON SPEAKERS) You know her
for her incredibly influential body of work
found in museums all over the world.
(GIRL GIGGLING)
But today,
it is our great honor to celebrate her life's work,
as part of our series devoted to activism in the arts.
Will you please join me in welcoming
the one and only
Sara Blum.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
GIRL: Have a nice day. Thank you for coming.
Bonjour. Merci.
Bonjour, mes amis.
It is my privilege to be with you today.
You know, I have made speeches like this before.
I've told versions of my story.
But for most of my life,
I have much preferred to let my art speak for me.
I think that is why I became an artist.
To fly away from the pain that I have known.
But I was talking
with my young grandson last night,
and I realized something.
I realized
I do not want to fly away anymore.
You see, my life was not normal.
Hatred is not normal.
Cruelty is not normal.
My bad.
GRAND-MERE: Love is normal.
Kindness is normal.
But simply knowing this is not enough.
It must be shared.
It must be practiced.
Excuse me.
Hi. Uh...
I just wanted to say I'm sorry about yesterday.
I was kind of a jerk to you.
Kind of. Whatever. It's cool.
-My name's Julian, by the way. -I'm Rahmiya.
GRAND-MERE: Sometimes the smallest gestures...
Join our club.
GRAND-MERE: ...can lead to the greatest change.
So, you wanna come to D.C. with our club?
JULIAN: Uh, yeah.
Yeah.
GRAND-MERE: A very wise man, Martin Luther King, once said,
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness.
"Only the light can do that."
Now, this is what my father believed.
We must, all of us, use the light within ourselves
to stop the injustices of today.
For only then can we be certain
that the darkness of the past will never be repeated.
And that those...
And that those who gave their lives to defy it
did so for a brighter tomorrow.
Vive l'humanite!
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Vive l'humanite!
Vive l'humanite!
(TENDER MUSIC CONTINUES)
(BIRD CHIRPING)
(TENDER MUSIC CONTINUES)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
(GO ON BY SIA PLAYING) ♪ It's a hard life ♪
♪ But I'm still here ♪
♪ After all these years, I am ♪
♪ Stronger than I thought I was ♪
♪ Fearless, oh, damn ♪
♪ The ocean fills with tears ♪
♪ With our unspoken fears ♪
♪ The sky provides the light ♪
♪ So we can all survive ♪
♪ The trees will hold your hand ♪
♪ When you don't think you can ♪
♪ The sun will burst so strong ♪
♪ When you think you can't go on ♪
♪ You can go on ♪
♪ When you think you can't go on ♪
♪ You can go on ♪
♪ You can ♪
♪ You can go on ♪
♪ You can ♪
♪ Slow down, stop to take it in ♪
♪ Feel the sacred wind, I do ♪
♪ We're here now, give thanks for all you have ♪
♪ Give thanks for all we have, we can ♪
♪ The ocean fills with tears ♪
♪ With our unspoken fears ♪
♪ The sky provides the light ♪
♪ So we can all survive ♪
♪ The trees will hold your hand ♪
♪ When you don't think you can ♪
♪ The sun will burst so strong ♪
♪ When you think you can't go on ♪
♪ You can go on ♪
♪ When you think you can't go on ♪
♪ You can go on ♪
♪ You can ♪
♪ You can go on ♪
♪ You can ♪
(SONG ENDS)
(DREAMY MUSIC PLAYING)