A Secret (2007)

after so many movies about Shoah, it could be a decent movie. almost good. that could be the first verdict. but, it is one of films who can not be reduced at acting or script. the essence is not the secret or the atmosphere but the manner to discover it. and the grace - delicacy of director, the inspired way to translate the force of novel lines are the best motif for discover the film not as a show but as meeting. the photographs, the music, the precise performance of actors, the locations, all are pieces of a touching and impressive movie about choices and options.and, like for many important films, the great virtue is science to use the silence . a decent movie. and little more.

SPOILER: A recurring thought: Old Maxime, who had accepted the loss of his first son and wife, was inconsolable about losing his dog (because he chose to walk the dog without a leash and it was run over), and the dog's death served to displace all of the angst he had repressed from similar earlier matrimonial irresponsibility. Claude Miller emphasized this over and over and over. The persistent eying of Tania at his own wedding and many subsequent scenes left no doubt that Maxime should have been a prime candidate for self-flagellation. Since he never demonstrated subsequent shame or regret, humanity gets to at least see how such guilt can still enter into one's life even if only the pangs of guilt through mindless displacement in the form of the dog incident. Maybe this movie should be an iconic cinema graphic reference for wandering spouses to consider while they visualize themselves as "taking the leash off" to allow beauty to trump all those ideals that are actually being dumped along with the death of a good relationship. But just like other movies that demonstrate the fallibility of mankind regarding the temptation of beauty, at the risk of losing all ideals weaspire for ourselves and our children, we are brought to bear the same emotions and attractions that are difficult to withstand. Jean Seberg in "Lilith", Emmanuelle Seigner in "Bitter Moon", Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman", etc provide worthy examples. "Match Point" also demonstrated how a poor guy who is lucky enough to marry a fairly good looking very educated woman from a very wealthy family is charmed by beauty enough to leave his wife and lose everything. "A Secret" ranks up there with those movies that force you to grapple with lustful and selfish feelings felt by Maxime. Perhaps such movies should be included in a behavioral modification course for family therapy. But this movie shows little poetic justice for Maxime as he only suffers guilt from his irresponsibility with his dog and not from his excessive lust for Tania. In the end, he is unable to associate his inconsolable dog death feelings with the fact that he set in motion the loss of his family during precarious wartime conditions. Some people have no guilt nor insight, like Maxime. Many of the rest of us are fighting the magic of beauty and should know better. Chazz

Claude Miller is one of the finest of modern French directors, and this film is one of his best. As many others have said before me, 'Un Secret' ('A Secret') verges on perfection in every way. The direction, the actors, the novel, the script, are all superb. The film is based upon a best-selling novel by Philippe Grimbert, which tells what is apparently a true story, of a revelation about what really happened in wartime, as experienced by a son who has never been told the truth. The story takes places at various times and has flashbacks and flash-forwards. The savage oppression of the Vichy Regime in France is here shown in all its fascist relentlessness: French policemen picking up French citizens to send them off to be gassed in Germany! Children too! And thereby hangs the tale: the 'imaginary brother' whom the lead character used to play with in his imagination when he was a child is someone he later discovers really existed, and really was his older brother so that it must have been a psychic impression. But the older brother was sent off to his death, with his mother, and a conspiracy of silence about the true events became a family tradition. The stately and athletic figure of the ironically named Cecile de France (ironical because she was born not in France but in Belgium) wafts through this film continually, and to call her redolent with vibrant beauty and possessor of a kind of 'ideal Aryan woman' quality would be an understatement. She positively exudes allure, in the way that some fruit trees drip sap. Ludivine Sagnier, who used to be a child actress, but has long since matured successfully, does an incredibly sensitive job of portraying the intangible hysteria and willfulness of a young Jewish woman who makes a false decision at a moment of crisis during the War, at a point when she has become irrationally defiant and slightly unhinged. This is a perfectly judged film, which must have meant a lot to the director (who wrote the script himself), and everyone involved seems to have contributed his or her best to bring this tragic tale to life in an unforgettable manner.

I was able to see to see this film as part of a recent festival of French films shown at Cannes. It was one of the better French movies that I've seen but somehow it lacks the emotional impact to make it a truly outstanding film.Un Secret is about Francois, who gradually learns about his family's secret history, dating back to World War II, that continues to haunt his parents and himself even up to the present. The director expresses this idea visually by shooting the present day scenes in black and white and the flashback scenes in color.The plot of Un Secret is well-laid out and comes together satisfyingly enough. I have to admit that one problem I had with the film was that I had some problems following the complicated family relationships among the characters, but once you get past that, the way the story unfolds is ultimately rewarding.The problem I had with the film, which may just be my problem, is that the film lacks emotional impact. The film'e emotions are understated and, while this is not necessarily a bad thing, prevents it from becoming truly memorable.Still, its one of the better recent French films and you should see it if you get the chance.