La Rafle

In the summer of 1942 more than 12,000 French Jews were delivered to the Nazi. They were locked at the Vélodrome d'Hiver for several days without food or water or sanitation.

It was up to Red Cross nurses, like Annette Monod (Mélanie Laurent), and Dr. Sheinbaum (Jean Reno) to care for the prisoners and mitigate their suffering.

La Rafle is not a film about the deportation of Jews and the horror of the concentration camps with Hitler's Final Solution. This film is powerful testimony to the denaturalization of French Jews, the appalling conditions of the Vel d'Hiv, the lack of resistance of the French police as well as the existence of the French camps.

The theme is far to be new. In strange way, this is its basic virtue. Because, starting from an event of the year 1943 , in Paris, it gives , in brilliant manner, the portrait of a profound tragedy, in right and precise manner. It represents one of most inspired films about Shoah. For performances of children, for the cinematography, for the script who gives different angles of tragedy, for the feeling of viewer to remind the weakness of human nature. A great film. Useful in deep sense. For remind. And for define the essence of the way to discover the other as only object.

This movie has all I want in a film, it is informing and holds the attention. I am a great admirer of Jean Reno and he comes over here as good as ever. The acting in general was excellent and the child actors were superb with such a difficult storyline. The music fitted well to the story and allowed the feel of the movie to shine through. In all a great film which stirs the blood and makes one feel ashamed to be human. It is important to remember what happened and why we should never let it happen again, however it seems that it happens now and we do nothing about it. Long live the French film school, with a tear in my eye I end this review and think again of the many who died without a cause.

On 06 June 1942, the government of Vichy makes a deal with the Nazis and delivers thousands of Jewish families to be sent to the concentration Camp of Beaune-La-Rolande, Loiret and then to the crematories.

"La Rafle" is another touching and heartbreaking film that shows the fate of some Jewish families that are removed by force from their homes to the final destination of a crematory. The cruelty of the fate of the Jewish in occupied Europe in the 40's is composed of millions of tragic stories; therefore films about this theme are always extremely sad and usually well-produced, shaking with the emotions of any sensitive viewer.

This new approach of the Holocaust, based on what happened in France under the complacence of the French politicians and authorities, is very sad since it shows the destiny of thousand of children that are first separated from their mothers and then send to death. It is cruel but never comparable to the "Sophia's Choice", for me the most depressive film about mother and children relationship ever made. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Amor e Ódio" ("Love and Hate")

OK, it's not a superb film but, all the same, it is a decent depiction of the extermination of the Jews in Paris. The acting is very good, both by Jean Reno and Melanie Laurent as well. Even the child actors give good performances in general. There is nothing special or surprising regarding the plot, and most of the themes have already been presented effectively in other films, but this fact does not make the film bad in any way. The film manages to hold the tension and it succeeds in being moving at the same time. All in all, I watched this movie with undiminished interest from the beginning till the end and I think it deserves a higher rating than 5.6/10, as well as your attention