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, they started this new club and are 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 DC for this big human rights rally.
Thanks anyway.
Well, if you change your mind... Hey, you're Julian, right?
I'm Dylan.
My mom plays tennis with yours.
She told me to look out for you.
Oh, okay.
Hitting used to go to Beecher Prep?
Yeah, long time ago.
I switched to Union Tech from middle school.
Union?
Man, we used to crush you guys in the regionals.
Well, we sucked, so... Anyway, if your mom asks, I found you, okay?
And, uh, word of advice, this is the loser table.
If you want, you can come sit with us tomorrow.
Oh, okay.
Maybe I'll...
I never would have guessed it And if you trying to throw out all them vibes I'mma
catch on The lifestyle we live is just too dangerous Paranoid since I've been linking
my... Wonder if it'll come out on the web And I can't help all these...
Taking a photo and posting it Coming home late and I'm
crawling to bed She always be asking me, where have you been?
The world is gonna shit and we all know that People freaking out like it to cross
that They on the Chino Shorts got all the blogs, man Fuck the internet and you can
quote that It's a love When they think the rich is bliss Then they'll wake me up And
I'll probably be less to know Cause I don't get on the internet no more It's a
love When they think the rich is bliss Then they'll wake me up And I'll probably
be less to know Cause I don't get on the internet no more
Hey, how's the new school?
Hello?
Kramer, you scared the crap out of me.
Oh, je suis désolée mon cher.
I couldn't resist.
So, viens d'ici.
Allez, allez.
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 I was today.
I just saw your parents.
They had to go out for some fancy soirée with your father's colleagues.
Yeah, what else is new?
Alors, c'est une table pour deux.
Dad said they're doing an exhibit of your paintings at the Met.
A retrospective.
It's a polite way of saying I'm old.
Kramer, I'm only 15.
So, tell me about you.
What about this new school, of course?
Well, it's only been a week, so I don't really know anyone yet.
Well, I met this kid today who seems okay.
He's into sports and stuff.
He said that I could hang out with him and his friends if I wanted to.
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.
What?
Julia, you did not leave your old school.
You were expelled for being cruel to another boy.
Whatever.
You know what I mean.
If I learn 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?
Aberdeen, something, something.
It's in the Marcherie des Mountains.
It's surrounded by this ancient forest called the Mernui.
The Mernui was a dark and scary place.
People would tell legends about the giant wolves
that roamed the woods during the long winters.
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.
It was magical.
To see it was to feel like you had stepped into a fairy tale.
It is perhaps my most beloved memory of my childhood.
Picnics with my parents amongst the fairy flowers.
So?
Make me a bird, Papa.
Again?
But faster this time.
Okay, okay.
Little bird, little bird, 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.
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.
I admit, I was a bit spoiled.
Although, of course, I did not see it that way.
When life is as good as mine was, there is much you do not see.
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.
He didn't know what to say.
He just did it again.
Shh.
We will be in the cellar.
If anyone asks for me, I am on home secret call.
Okay?
Sounds better now.
I replace the pressure roller.
Wait, your new jacket.
I love it.
It looks so expensive.
Here comes Gimp with a limp.
Take a stick.
That's it.
Popped like a bunny.
He ought to be in the circus.
At least he could scratch me.
Hey, Patel.
That's right.
Oh, Toto.
That's 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.
That's definitely why he smells so bad.
I didn't even know his name.
We all just called him Toto, 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.
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, Zahra.
He has been a poet for a long time.
The poem is about man's frustration with time.
We want to control it, but of course we can't.
All right, see you all tomorrow.
Zahra, could you stay a moment?
Sorry about the note.
Your 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.
The gift is to be treasured, Zahra.
Never stop drawing, okay?
You sound just like my father.
I consider that quite the compliment.
The world of reality has its limits.
The world of imagination is boundless.
See you tomorrow.
Hi, Madame Ballou.
Hi, Pierre.
One pound of chocolate, please.
Here.
Thank you.
Just take it and go.
What?
When?
Today.
This morning.
Don't worry.
I'll find another job.
I was getting a little bored at the university anyway.
How could they do that?
You're the best maths professor they have.
It's complicated, Zahra.
Not really.
Max, don't.
What?
I was just writing 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.
It's like a bad storm, Zahra.
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 Torsi to a labour camp.
Max, enough.
The French, please.
There is no France.
But she 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.
No, Rose, listen to yourself.
Do you think these bastards care where we were born?
Or whether we go to synagogue or not?
In their eyes we're not French.
We're vermin, a disease to be wiped out.
Enough!
No more.
It'll be okay, Sara.
This is our country and it always will be.
Tell her!
Tell her it's going to be okay.
It's going to be okay.
Wildlife in Africa is very different to ours here in France.
They have gazelles, hyenas...
All right, make sure to memorize the information on the border.
We'll continue next week.
Sara?
Excuse me.
Oh, God, what is he doing?
Is he coming over here?
I saw this under your desk.
I figured he must have dropped it.
Thanks.
You're welcome.
Somebody has a crush.
Is that a friend of yours?
Huh?
No, I left something in class.
What was it?
Nothing.
May I?
No, don't run.
Toto touched it with his crap laws.
You're terrible.
Can I?
What are you, jewelry?
Just when I'm bored.
Stupid stuff.
You shouldn't say that.
Is this me?
Um... I like it.
Shinbi Sashime, her talent is really good.
For a Jew.
There he is, officer.
The Jew who tricked us out of our money.
Jew?
What Jew?
I'm not a Jew.
Give them back their money, Jew.
This will teach you not to steal.
People have a guilty conscience.
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.
For Marseille.
Aaron and Lucy were arrested.
But that's the free zone.
There was a roundup.
Apparently they were taken to a camp up north near Compiègne.
Petain is putting Darno in charge of the national police.
A fascist in league with Hitler's SS in charge of the police.
It's time, Rose.
We need to get out what we can.
Like Rabbi Belstein and his wife.
So what?
We just abandon our home.
Everything we own, everything we worked for.
No, I just... I know.
I just want to give it a little more time.
Get our things in order and say our goodbyes.
There can be no goodbyes, Rose.
You know that.
No one must know.
It's beautiful, Sarah.
Why do people hate us so much?
Not all people.
You need to remember that.
But some do.
Some.
Some yes.
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.
We're sorry, Sarah.
We know this is going to be very hard for you.
When do we need to leave?
Or soon?
Soon.
By next week, the latest.
It won't be forever.
Do you promise?
I 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.
Good night, Sarah.
We love you.
Good morning, Pastor Luke.
Good morning, Miss Bloom.
So then, A squared plus B squared equals C squared.
Come in.
Ma'am's operation.
May I have a word?
Of course.
Children, I have to leave for a few minutes.
I want you all to behave until I'm back.
Sarah, Ruth, I need you to come with me quickly.
Please bring your coats.
Come on.
Why?
I'll explain everything outside.
The rest of you, stay in your seats.
There's been a roundup of the Jews in Aubert-Villiers-Au-Bois.
We believe German officers are on their way here now.
Mark your side.
It's going to take you and the other Jewish children to hide in the woods.
Sarah, where's your coat?
It's in the art room.
Take this.
Hey.
Scared?
Me too.
I know you are, but it's going to be alright.
Quickly, children.
Come.
Children, this is Antoine.
He will keep you safe, but you must do exactly as he says.
Do you understand?
I need you all to stay very quiet and to run very fast.
Can you do that?
Now.
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.
Let's go.
Right, now go back to your classrooms.
Come away from the windows right now.
Go back to your classroom.
Right now.
Leave humanity!
It's alright.
We're taking you to your parents.
Everybody in, please.
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.
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.
Marie.
One of the children's missing.
There are 14 names on our list.
But only 13 children accounted for.
One's missing.
Sarah.
The soldiers are still searching for you.
You need to come with me right now.
I know where I am.
I'm sorry.
It's the safest way.
Where are we?
My father showed me this once.
He's worked in these sewers for years.
It only goes down about as deep as these.
I think.
Here.
I'm fine.
You're freezing.
And it's another six kilometers to Don Villier.
What's in Don Villier?
My home.
What about my parents?
What if something bad happens to my parents?
Sure, they're fine.
Please, we really need to keep moving.
I 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.
I'm sorry.
What?
If it was safe to stay at my house, you'd understand.
Really?
This is nice.
What was that?
That sound.
That would be the bat.
They nest in the rafters sometimes.
They're harmless, I swear.
That was Esther Hayloft.
I was thinking that's where you could hide.
It's fine, really.
I'm stronger than I look.
The stacks and 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.
Tauté.
I... just wanted to...
wish 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 Tauté.
I... Of course.
See, I know your last name is Mommier because they always sit us next to each other.
But... It's Julian.
I'm sorry.
Thank you, Julian.
Julian?
Hmm?
Your father knew how special that name was to me.
So what happened next?
Next, I met his parents.
Vivienne and Jean-Paul.
We'll do everything we can to find your parents.
And until then, you stay with us, okay?
It's not the rates.
But we can spiff it up a little.
Can't we, Julian?
Try to eat something.
I'll... fix you up a bit.
I was instructed not to leave the barn under any circumstances.
For fear of being found out by the nosy neighbours.
The La Fleur's.
No one could know of my existence.
Sarah?
I, um... I brought you something.
I remember how you liked to draw.
Here.
Thanks, Julian.
I also brought some books.
And your schoolwork so you don't fall behind.
I could teach you today's lesson if you want.
Or not.
Being so nice to me...
I was never very nice to you.
At least my friends certainly were.
I guess I always felt you were... I don't know.
Different.
Maybe you're wrong.
I doubt it.
I'm really smart.
Is that so?
I mean, I don't like to brag.
I know, of course not.
Yes.
Vivienne and Jean-Paul tried their best.
But as days became weeks, there was still no word of my parents.
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 Julia.
So if A and B are distinct points...
and AC plus CB equals AB...
then C must lie on.
AB?
Not bad, though.
Okay, so what we can get from that information is that...
CAB is a right angle triangle.
And that information is 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 Chapman'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.
Let's see.
Well, you were right about Jean-Marc.
He does have a crush on Simone.
I heard him telling Luke in biology.
I knew it.
What else?
Let me think.
Yvette and Agnes are still fighting over the solo in the Spring Ross Idol.
Of course.
Christophe got in trouble for snoring in Madame Lucienne's class.
And they finally figured out who hid that sardine near Monsieur Jelot's desk.
It was... Eugene.
You told me last week.
It's like Jelot's surprise test.
Plus his father works in the Canada.
Impressive.
Simple maths.
Speaking of which... Fine.
Okay, so if angle A and angle B are complementary...
And angle A is twice them... Thank you again for this.
I'm glad you like it.
In town, the situation was only growing worse.
Vincent and some other boys from the school had been recruited to join the Milice.
The local Nazi militia.
They were given guns and areas of town to patrol...
With instructions to report any suspicious behaviour.
Julian... If anyone asks for me... You know what to say.
No terrain, no best roads to Andouche.
My contact in Toulouse says their shipping goes for ammunition.
But it will take a few more days.
No, it has to be soon.
The answer is no.
Down the ground is only for those willing to die for freedom.
That's not why I need to see you.
Then what?
I need your help.
Are you sure you've been trusted?
I'm positive.
So he said it will take a few weeks for the
woman he knows to forge the identity papers.
But once we have those, George will arrange to take you to an abbey in Le Moustier.
The nuns there have been organising 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 where you are.
After her victory in Orleans, Joan was able to
convince Charles VII to let her join the army.
Led by the Duke of Arenceau.
The aim of recapturing the bridges along the Loire.
Joan then led a small group... Where have you ever been?
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.
Have you really never been to Paris?
I've never even left Anvillier except to go to school.
What?
Where are you going?
Sarah?
Well, how do you like Paris so far?
It's...
It's great.
Up ahead is the Place de la Troyes.
Do you see it?
Yes.
Julian, here, take the wheel.
Use your imagination.
Just picture it in your mind's eye.
You're up to Trier.
It's a beautiful archway.
Over 50 meters tall.
And then...
The Place de la Conco.
Do you see all those lovely cafes?
The flower shops.
Julian?
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.
We're driving down a quite little street.
In the 6e arrondissement.
And now we're turning.
Along the banks of the River Seine.
That's the Saint-Michel Bridge.
Just up there.
Oh, wait, I can't see it now.
You do?
Really?
Really.
And then to the left, there's Notre Dame.
Isn't it incredible?
It really is.
Can I admit something embarrassing?
I do this at least three times a week.
You try spending every single day alone in a bar.
Watch out for that lady!
Just for that, we're skipping the Eiffel Tower.
No, please.
Not the Eiffel Tower.
The next three weeks passed very strangely.
Time seemed to crawl.
And yet, it also seemed to move very, very fast.
Almost too fast.
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 will be square.
Oh, you're making that up.
I am not.
Dare you.
Wait, Sarah.
Sarah, see over there?
See them?
They're zebras.
Oh, they're beautiful.
I was anxious about leaving for Switzerland.
I knew I would miss those evenings with Julian.
It was as if we had created our own little world.
Even as the world outside grew darker and darker.
George, it's me.
I'm here for the papers.
We're up to something.
What have we here?
Look at this.
Get us in a message.
This is what happens to traitors.
What?
I hate them.
I hate them so much.
I'm so sorry, Julian.
I just... I just can't believe he's gone.
Remember the bird I told you about?
I drew her for you.
So you could meet her too.
She always comes when I need her.
She brings me hope.
Little bird, little bird.
How high will you climb?
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.
My plans
for being smuggled out disappeared with George.
The attack on the cinema was only the beginning
of a much darker phase of the occupation.
The killing had begun.
The Germans set up new headquarters, right in Don Villier.
Now we had far more to worry about than just the nosy Lafleurs.
Nazis were everywhere, on every road in and out of the village.
There was no way I could reach Switzerland now.
The Bomiers 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 Julia's nightly visits that sustained me.
The barn had become my whole world, and Julia its center.
We had in common one crucial thing.
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.
I began to see Julia as more than my rescuer, or even my friend.
He was my light.
Special trip tonight, Mademoiselle Blum.
How lovely.
Where are you this time?
You will see.
Close your eyes, okay?
How would you like to visit New York tonight?
Hard.
Sure.
Okay then.
Open your eyes.
Oh, Julia.
So beautiful.
Oh, look at the theaters.
Torteur.
Don't you ever bathe in the crab's light water?
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'll be with the older children, but I
suspect they'll be the ones trying to keep up.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, Julia.
There's not much brings me joy these days.
You can go back to class now.
I'll wait for the day and the night.
I'll always wait for your return.
I'll wait for the bird that is looking for its nest.
The time passes quickly.
I'm struggling, sadly, in my softest heart.
And yet, I'll wait for your return.
It's so early.
Is everything okay?
My sketchbook!
I was in Pastor Luke's and I saw it.
Thank you.
I was so stupid back then.
Toto?
Hey, Toto.
What's going on, Toto?
What are you doing here?
I was just working on my father's car.
I saw you sneaking out of Pastor Luke's office with something.
Don't play dumb without a scribble.
I left my book there.
So what?
Bullshit.
Please, it's in my house.
I can show you right now.
You're a bad liar.
What did you steal from Pastor Luke?
Nothing.
I just left my book.
You think you're smarter than everyone, don't you?
No.
Pathetic, you know that?
We deformed useless.
Do you know what Nazis do to people like you?
Do you?
They exterminate them like Jews.
I should do the human race a favor.
I'll cut you out of your misery right now.
Shut your mouth!
Alright, it's only a lesson, Vincent.
Shut your mouth!
He hasn't!
The hell are you looking at, freak?
Feeble manatee.
What did you say?
The hell is that?
Look out!
Let's get out of here!
It's ok, you're ok.
Come back to the loft.
They could come back.
I said go to the loft!
What are you stupid?
Go!
I just wanted to... 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 that... 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.
Please.
I'm sorry.
Please.
Just go back to the loft, Sarah.
Please.
It's been days since he's gone 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.
When in dark times, those small things remind us of our humanity.
For you, humanity.
Another week passed, then another.
And still, Julian stayed away.
Swrew up and off.
You?
Can we talk?
No, no.
Okay.
I hate it.
I hate that you showed me that time.
Like what?
Like some weakling.
A helpless, pathetic weakling.
Did you hear that?
I know it's hard to believe, but he's strong first.
Before he got poly, he was the fastest kid in my whole class.
I just don't remember what it felt like to run like that.
To be strong.
You are strong.
You are.
And brave.
The bravest person I've ever met.
Why?
Because I walk with a crutch.
My 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.
Now I'm selfish.
I was just upset.
I didn't mean... 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.
You did try to save me, though.
I would have gone, let's both kill them.
Probably.
Still, it was brave of you.
Take a compliment.
Thank you.
There we go.
Shall we get back to the game now?
Can I just say one more thing?
What?
I loved...
Look who finally won.
I've been too used to it.
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.
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.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday dear Sara.
Happy birthday to you.
I didn't even realize it was today.
Happy birthday, my sweet.
Is it really chocolate?
Vivienne has been saving Russian cards for months.
Make a wish, Blum.
Thank you.
It's beautiful.
Right, let's eat some cake.
Now, how did you get it past the Laplanders?
I did something a bit naughty.
God forgive us.
Last week I had a tooth pulled.
A doctor gave me sleeping powder for the pain.
I had a little extra.
I assume a mum put it in their milk this afternoon.
We could hear them snoring through the wall.
Now, I was told they'd be dancing.
But of course.
Thank you.
Thank
you for my present.
It's a turn.
I can see that.
Radio London interrupts this broadcast to bring you developing news.
Monte Cassino has been liberated by the Allies.
The first German parachute division has been
destroyed, clearing the path to Rome for the Allies.
France will be next.
Laughter That means the war will be over soon.
Sara.
What are you doing here?
Must be after midnight.
I've got one more present for you.
Are you okay?
Yeah.
I just haven't been outside in.
Come on.
I'd never been there at night before.
All those stories of giant wolves would have scared me away.
But that night, I felt no fear.
Manoey.
Happy birthday.
There's...
There's something I want to say, and I feel like
if I don't do it now, then I'll never be here.
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... was you a part of it, and I'm wondering if maybe... Yes.
I haven't even answered the question yet.
I nearly answered.
Yes.
You should be home.
The sun will be up soon.
Yeah.
Wait, I have something for you too.
Really?
Yeah.
I left something for you.
It's in the middle.
See you tomorrow.
Beautiful humanity.
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 Julian.
Yes, I answer.
I know.
I love Julian.
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.
I love you, Sarah.
Julian, you'll be late for school.
Good morning, Mama.
Someone's in a good mood.
Why not?
The sun is shining.
The bluebells are blooming.
The bluebells?
See you tonight, Mama.
I'm not sure what made Julian take the main road to school that morning.
Perhaps he was feeling brave.
Perhaps he had other things on his mind.
Am I
short on the,
um... You there!
Cripple!
Papers!
I'm just on my way to school.
The Accol Lafayette.
We can take you.
Wait, my bag!
Come on, move!
Let's get in!
Up, come on!
Ah!
Jean-Paul!
It's your son, Julian.
What?
What happened?
The police took him away.
Sarah, right?
A little missing dress.
Where were you this whole time, honey, in Toto's barn?
His name is Julian.
Put your hands up.
Put them up!
Please.
Turn around.
Turn around!
Coward.
No!
Why are you stopping?
Vivienne!
Jean-Paul!
Vivienne?
Jean-Paul?
Stay where you are.
Not another step or I'll shoot.
Please.
What are you doing here?
My friend is shooting at me.
What do you want with us?
Nothing.
I just need to find Vivienne.
Please.
Don't make me shoot you.
Stay there.
Sarah.
We're by Bernstein.
Bernstein.
You know this girl?
This is Sarah Bloom.
Her family lived down the street from us.
I don't understand.
Lefler, please put the gun away.
Sarah.
What are you doing here?
Romeo's were hiding me in their barn.
They thought you were informants for the Nazis.
Sarah.
The Lefler's have been hiding us in their attic for almost two years now.
Today we're being smuggled out by the Amash Weaver.
You should come with us.
I have to find Vivienne.
Julian's been arrested.
I just told you.
There have been no arrests today.
You are lying.
He's just upset.
He's... I'm sorry.
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.
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 Bonmiers return.
Good luck, old friend.
You write to us when you get to Jerusalem.
God will remember your kindness.
It's Vivienne.
Vivienne!
Sarah!
Vivienne!
How much money do you need?
So much more than we have.
We'll take my car.
Sarah.
You should go up to Aramatic.
Let's go.
Everybody out!
Come on!
Everybody out!
Get out!
Let's go!
What's going on?
This road is closed so you're being diverted.
Better take a little break now.
Come on!
Out!
Let's go!
All out!
Move out!
Come on!
Let's go!
Please.
My son is on that truck.
Please.
Not anymore.
They continued on third.
Please.
Please, I have money.
Money for his release.
Come on.
Move.
Little bird.
How fast will you go?
As fast as a dove.
As fast as a crow.
Run!
They're getting away!
No!
Julien!
Get her back in the car now!
Get her back or I'll shoot!
No, no, no, no!
Please, no, no.
Please.
Get back to the car.
Please.
Julien.
The Beaumiers returned to the woods.
Julien!
Once the soldiers had moved on, they searched for Julien all through the
night and for many days that followed.
Julien!
They continued to cling to the hope that perhaps Julien had gotten away.
Julien!
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.
The final capitulation of the Nazi state.
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.
I continued to live with the Beaumiers.
Who had 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.
Then, one day, in early November, it was Papa.
He was back.
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.
He had tried to keep the truth from me, but he realized he could not.
He explained that on the day of the Roundup, Maman had been arrested.
She was put on a train to Drancy.
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.
We will always have a mother in me.
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.
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?
It's okay, I've got it.
Ah!
Merci, mon cher.
You know her.
For her incredibly influential body of work, found in museums all over the world.
But today, it is our great honor to celebrate her life's work as part of our
series devoted to activism and the arts.
Will you please join me in welcoming the one and only, Sarah Brown.
Bonjour.
Merci.
Bonjour.
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.
Love is normal.
Kindness is normal.
But simply knowing this is not enough.
It must be shared.
It must be practiced.
Excuse me.
Hi.
I just wanted to say I'm sorry about yesterday.
It was kind of a jerk to you.
Kind of.
Whatever.
It's cool.
My name is Julian, by the way.
I'm Ramya.
Sometimes the smallest gestures can lead to the greatest change.
So, do you want to come to DC with our club?
Uh, yeah.
Yeah.
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'humanité!
CAN53 26 April 2024