Sarah's Key

[Beate]

Far too dark in the Greenwich Picturehouse screen this morning. We basically groped our way to the seats which we knew had to be there at the end of the stairs! Upon complaining the usherette returned with a torch. Helpful but not really good enough. Anyway, it filled up to capacity and it was nice seeing hdaniel82, canadian_turtle and ejwrank whose neighbourhood this isn't! We had a rapt audience, and kudos to ejwrank for leaning over to the one noisy woman in our row and telling her off for her loud rustling with food wrappers. It worked.

OMG, I cried. When the local women handed the children apples through the fence, I just cracked. What a sad film. But really amazing. Kristin Scott Thomas was wonderful as ever, and for a woman who had a cut-glass English accent in The English Patient and Four Weddings and a Funeral and has since taken to speaking perfect French, her American accent wasn't bad either.

The story, as sad as it was showed that there are good people everywhere, who do the right thing. It also shows that you can't escape or deny the past because it will catch up with you. Poor Sarah, my heart went out to her. She only ever tried to save her brother, but I guess if she hadn't, she might not have ended up where she did.
[spoiler]I was hoping that the little girl might be called Sarah![/spoiler]

9.5/10 because it made me cry.

[kevinknapman]

After the usual Clapham Picturehouse nonsense (People actually turning up after 11, staff making people move up so newcomers can sit together. The urge to tell them that if they want to be seated together they should get there early was fairly strong) the film finally got underway.

What an emotional journey it was too. Told with admirable restraint by the director so it never felt like a misery-fest. Just enough details to give you a sense of the horror of the situation without wallowing in it too much.
Incredibly well-acted by all concerned as well. Kristin Scott Thomas reliably strong. The girl who played Sarah was very good, in what must have been quite a difficult role to play. Niels Arestrup (A Prophet) was fantastic as the old man who helped her and Aidan Quinn was also very effective in the small role he had at the end.
If I have a minor criticism, it's that the past story was so compelling that the attention they pa*d to Thomas' character and her marriage/pregnancy problems sometimes felt a little intrusive. When two modern scenes had gone by without mention of the story she was investigating, I felt a little restless. As emotive as that story was, I just wanted to know about Michel's fate at that point.

Overall though, this was a very powerful, emotive and heartbreaking story, incredibly well told and beautifully shot and well worth getting up on a Sunday morning for.

[sharkgirl]

Amazingly Norwich Cinema City was full well before time and turning people away, never seen that before, I don't think it helps when there are members priority tickets as well as SFF tickets issued for the same screening, if I had been sensible enough to have looked at previous postings on this subject I wouldn't have bothered going in the first place, ah well, live and learn, went shopping instead which was far more enjoyable on a sunny day than a gloomy film, so all's well that ends well.

[Beate]

Amazingly Norwich Cinema City was full well before time and turning people away, never seen that before, I don't think it helps when there are members priority tickets as well as SFF tickets issued for the same screening, if I had been sensible enough to have looked at previous postings on this subject I wouldn't have bothered going in the first place, ah well, live and learn, went shopping instead which was far more enjoyable on a sunny day than a gloomy film, so all's well that ends well.

If it's a Sunday morning Picturehouse screening a certain quota of the tickets is always for members and a certain quota is for SFF. The SFF tickets were bookable before the members tickets btw so there is no point complaining about them. People who get there in time won't be turned away.

[jeanelle]

The book this was based on was wonderful and the film certainly did it justice. A well told, touching and at times of course harrowing story was beautifully acted and filmed. Kristin Scott Thomas was perfectly cast and the little girl Sarah was amazing.

Haven't been to Clapham Picturehouse before and found it very comfortable. Also as usual a nice bonus to meet/see FMUKers.

[Decadent Dodo]

Actualy we managed to get in to Norwich at about 10.45 - guess we were just lucky. The film was very good I nearly cried on a couple of occassions. Not all sandness there was some hope in there ...

[canadian_turtle]

I had no idea what Sarah's Key would be about when I went into the screening so was completely unprepared for the emotional draining experience. I don't think I ever cried this much during a movie. While not at all the kind of movie I would normally go for, it was excellent, and I thought that especially young Sarah was superb. 8/10

[LiteupLee]

I was happily surprised by this film in a packed Liverpool FACT today. I did get a bit confused, but I think I did that to myself really. I kept thinking have I missed something? And still don't know if I did? I couldnt really understand the connection between the family and Sarah apart from them taking over their apartment after Sarah's family had been taken away? I could'nt understand why they were sending money for Sarah and why correspondance was taking place between sarah's new family and the family that had the apartment??? What did I miss here?
Apart from that, I thought this was a real eye-opener in respect of this whole debacle. Excellent cast and the girl who played Sarah (aged10) was amazing.[spoiler]She really portrayed a picture of what her brother must have been like when she did finally get back to him. Horrific, but they let your head make up your own pictures as it would in the book![/spoiler]8.5/10

[Beate]

I couldnt really understand the connection between the family and Sarah apart from them taking over their apartment after Sarah's family had been taken away? I could'nt understand why they were sending money for Sarah and why correspondance was taking place between sarah's new family and the family that had the apartment??? What did I miss here?

I guess they just felt guilty and wanted to do the right thing.

[LiteupLee]

I couldnt really understand the connection between the family and Sarah apart from them taking over their apartment after Sarah's family had been taken away? I could'nt understand why they were sending money for Sarah and why correspondance was taking place between sarah's new family and the family that had the apartment??? What did I miss here?

I guess they just felt guilty and wanted to do the right thing.

Oh right, I did think that, but convinced myself I'd missed something. Thankyou so much, was driving myself a bit mad (ok, so the norm then lol) Thanx Beate x