Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

kiowhatta The problem with this film is not it's relevance to history. It's the continued narrative perpetrated by Israeli's who have already selfishly and greedily hijacked the holocaust as an on-going justification for their current foreign policy (which is criminal). However, in this film, the audience's intelligence is insulted beyond comprehension as the protagonists are almost caricatures and history is told through the eyes of saccharine viewing children. The Nazi's (of course) are blood-thirsty, removed bureaucrats, while the French jews are portrayed as harmless, benevolent, life loving people who simply love one another and may as well be angels. This narrative is told time and again, giving the viewer no reason or context with which to view the history of anti-semitism. The intelligent film-goer will feel manipulated, even though the question of good vs evil is intact. The point that is constantly airbrushed out of history is that Germany was not simply a nation of 'Nazi's'- just as Jewish people were not all Zionists's. But to please the politically correct thought police is once again the more important virtue than representing a complex and comprehensive historical event. This may as well be Batman vs (insert villain).

The Hateful Citizen Movies about the Second World War are some of the favorite subjects of writers and directors, movies about the Holocaust, some very beautiful, such as "The Pianist" or "Schindler's List" which are two monuments of cinema, but these films deal with the Holocaust in Poland or in the German camps but movies on the politics of the government of Petain and the Holocaust in France, and thus represented by the Vel d'Hiv, there are very few of them and it can be said that this one is successful, denouncing a face very often hidden but especially very black History (with a large H) of France, showing Jews living on French territory expelled and deported, believing they are directed to a Jewish territory while they are directed only to extermination camps. The film is historically interesting and poignant, a success that deserves 7/10. A French film about a French shame.

Deb VintageSoul I never knew about the Jews who were taken out of their homes and kept in the Velodrome d'Hiver in such awful conditions. While I had some idea of the treatment of the French Jews by the Vichy government, having read some historical fact it never hit home to me in such concrete detail before. I liked the juxtaposition of the lighthearted behavior of the children with what was about to happen to them and their families very interesting. I gave it 9 stars instead of 10 because I felt that some stories were not adequately developed. I would have liked to know more about the various characters, particularly those who escaped. I would have liked to know what happened to the girl who escaped by pretending to be the plumber's wife. I would have also liked to know what happened to the other girl who was taken in by the priests, along with her baby brother. There was also no explanation about what happened to the boy who escaped with Jo. Despite these omissions, this was overall an excellent story that succeeded in breaking my heart again.

barflyer7 Bought this film having read good reviews and have always been an admirer of Jean Reno in the films I have seen him in. I also don't mind watching a film with subtitles.I wasn't expecting the film to be better than what I thought and was pleasantly surprised. Sometimes when you know a film is supposed to be emotional you subconsciously prepare yourself and don't quite get the emotion but this film did it for me.The story of thousands of Jews and their families taken from their homes in Paris and placed in war camps where many are later killed is a powerful one. Never before has this particular episode in French history during the war been told. We see the effect through various Jews eyes of being forced from your home because you happen to be Jewish and how families and friends are torn apart. Those that try to escape who succeed and those who don't, those that cant even face their fate and those that bravely believe that one day again they will be free. It is through the children that much of this story centers, the innocent ones which also carries much of the emotion, the very young children too young to understand what is happening and going to happen to them and the slightly older children that show bravery beyond their years. Also through the eyes of a brave nurse(Melanie Laurent) and a dedicated Doctor (Jean Reno) we see a triumph of the human spirit to never give up and to try and stay united. The emotion in the film never lets up from start to finish and their is a constant mixture of cruelty and horror, impending dread yet tinged with hope and belief. Special praise must go to (Melanie Laurent) who plays the part of a nurse, you can really feel the connection she has with the children as if she is mother to them all. (Jean Reno) is not in the film as much as I expected but his presence is still felt and he can convey great emotion with just his face alone. The child actors are all good and (Udo Schenk)who plays Adolf Hitler is also very good. The music in the film is perfect for the story and the film is just the right length to keep you gripped.A very good retelling of a surprisingly neglected story highly recommended.