A Love to Hide (2005) NR - 4½ Stars

Reall great true love triangle, in German and French with subtitles, it takes place in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1942. A Love to Hide is a Holocaust story from the homosexual point of view. It wasn't until 1989 that homosexuals were even acknowledged as being a part of this important time in history. Known as "Vichy persecution of the third sex" in Paris, there was a lot more going on then people realized. Really excellent acting from everyone and even without subtitles, the visual images on screen tells the story. Well written with excellent direction, this movie belongs in the Holocaust archives.

Sara (Louise Monot), is a young Jewish girl living with her family in Paris. When the Germans occupy her country, her proud father refuses to bow down and leave their home while they had the chance. Instead, a smuggler sells her family short and Sara witnesses them family killed by the Nazi's, barely escaping with her own life. With no where to run to, she shows up at the home of a childhood friend Jean (Jeremie Renier), whom she has always felt a love for. Jean offers her shelter but needs to convince his lover Phillipe (Bruno Todeschini), that Sara will not tell of their homosexual affair. In those times, being found to be a homosexual was just as bad as admitting you were a Jew. Jean decides the only way to safely hide Sara is to disguise her as a employee of the family laundry business.

The three form an unlikely bond where both Phillipe and Sara are in love with Jean. His brother Jacques (Nicholas Gob), just released from prison and a black marketeer who would sell his soul for a buck, never measures up in his father's eyes. Jean is the prodigy son and when Jacques discovers his homosexuality secret, he getting him out of the picture for a little while will force his father and Sara to notice him. He sells Jean's arrest to the Gestapo in exchange for addresses from the laundry. But his plan backfires when Sara and he watch in horror Jean is taken away to a Nazi concentration camp where he has experiments preformed on him in order to get rid of his gay thoughts. Now, there's no one even Jacques can pay to help get Jean out.

Merlin Productions, France 2 (FR2)
Director: Christian Fauré
Writers: Samantha Mazeraz, Pascale Fontanille
Producers: Laetitia Bartoli, Pascale Fontanille, Francois Aramburu

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