Book to Movie: Sarah's Key

I actually saw the movie before reading the book, but I liked the movie enough to read it. If you would like a summary, see my review.

There were many aspects of this movie that I loved. As I've mentioned before, I am not a film critic and have never even taken a class about film, so all my opinions are my own and noto supported by any evidence or theory. However, I loved the colors in this film. Despite the bleakness and the sadness of the subject matter, every scene seemed infused with light and beauty to me. Sarah and Julia's stories are filled with inner dialogue and quiet moments, and the power of the scenes went far to fill in those quiet moments.

I was also impressed with the acting. Kristin Scott Thomas definitely played her role with emotion, albeit quiet emotion. I felt drawn to her character and her emotional quest to both have her own child and understand what happened to the children like Sarah who were taken from their homes by the French police. The actresses that played both the young and older Sarah were also powerful, with their wide-eyed, silent grief. I also love that old man that played DuFaure. My husband and I had to laugh because we saw War Horse the next day, and he also plays the elderly French farmer in War Horse. Apparently he is the token character for that type of role.

I also felt that the film did an excellent job of building the tension of what Michel, the little boy behind the door, experienced as his fate. Every moment is filled with foreboding tension as the scenes progress nearer to the revelation of his fate, and I actually was having a sympathetic (in the physiological sense) response -- gripping the chair, heart pounding, breaking out in a sweat. I was very emotionally affected by what happened.

I also liked the little addition of how Sarah and her husband met. I don't recall that being in the book, but I enjoyed the flashback in the movie.

My one issue with the film was more a factor of the medium of movies in general than the way Sarah's Key was made. Because the progression of the plot is often internal, at times the moments of silence left me wishing I could be inside the characters' minds. I looked forward to reading the book for that reason, although it didn't always give me quite as much insight as I would have liked (I like books that give you the nitty-gritty on everything. I'm not really a subtle person).

Overall, I thought this movie was very well-done. It is streaming on Netflix right now, so if you have an account, go watch it. :)

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Title: Sarah's Key
Author: Tatiana de Rosnay
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2007
Source: Borrowed from my sister
Read for: Fun

Sarah thinks that she is safe when she sees that it is just a French policeman speaking to her mother. However, in a few moments her entire world is turned upside down as she, her mother, and father are taken to a stadium to be held until later transit to concentration camps. At the last moment, Sarah locks her brother Michel in a small hidden closet in their apartment, hoping to keep him safe from the police. However, as the days in the camp become interminable, Sarah realizes her horrible mistake. Fast forwarding several decades, Julia Jarmond, an American journalist living in Paris, is assigned to cover the tragic events that befell Sarah and thousands of other French Jews. Julia is unprepared for the deep impact Sarah's story will have upon her life.

I have a confession -- I saw the movie first. Over Christmas break, my father-in-law rented it and told me he thought I would like it because it had a lot of French in it. I did like it, and I will write about my thoughts in a future post. For now, I will just say that I looked forward to the book because I felt that much of the story was introspective and would be better told in a book where there was more access to the thoughts of the characters.

In some ways, this was true. Julia's story is told in the first person, and I enjoyed getting to the inside of what, in the movie, was reflected only by long silences and facial expressions. Julia's connection to Sarah's story is palpable and powerful, not always directly related but translated into meaning by her own individual experiences. Sarah's story is a catalyst for many of the issues in Julia's life, and the meaning Julia derives from Sarah's story helps her to move on from negative situations to a more fulfilling, if not easier, life. I also enjoyed the deeper insights into Julia's relationship with her daughter, Zoe, her husband, Bertrand, and her in-laws, which represent Julia's experience in France in general. Again, in the movie, I saw it all through silences and meaningful looks -- in the book, I was happy to have a deeper connection to what Julia was experiencing.

Sarah remains an enigma, but this is part of her personality. The book follows Sarah in a third person perspective until the pinnacle of her story -- the moment that left me squirming and hoping against all hope that it would be avoided. Then, her life is left for Julia to discover through old documents and tenuously connected contacts. While there was slightly increased insight into her character, for the most part she was just as mysterious as she was in the movie -- a sad, tortured girl growing into a sad woman, dealing with the consequences of a horrible event.

So thus far, I liked the characterization and the events surrounding the characters. However, I took issue with the writing. It is complicated for me to explain, because it was evocative. The images and emotions were powerfully rendered. However, the structure was distracting and irksome. Tatiana de Rosnay frequently uses fragments in her writing that left me feeling as if I was reading something unfinished and unedited. I think she probably meant her structure to give an effect, but it was not effective for me and detracted from my reading experience.

Overall, Sarah's Key is a touching and unforgettable story. However, the writing distracted from the power of the story for me.

3.75 stars

Warnings: Violence and disturbing scenes, language, off-the-page sensuality