Un Secret (A Secret) (2007)

In "A Secret," it is 1955 and Francois(Valentin Vigourt) is a bookish seven-year old boy who comes as something as a disappointment to his athletic parents(Patrick Bruel & Cecile De France), spending most of his time at the home of Louise(Julie Depardieu), a doctor and family friend who injects him with daily vitamin shots. Therefore, Francois imagines having an older brother who is everything he is not. It is 1985 and Francois(Mathieu Amalric) is a doctor who works with the handicapped. One day, he receives word that his father's dog has died and that he is missing from home. "A Secret" is an intelligent movie about identity with a fine cast that while moving back and forth in time, manages to return to the same point in space.(Speaking of which, it is interesting to see Ludivine Sagnier not to play the sexpot for a change...) Much of Francois' day dreams make sense, considering they probably originate from snatches of overheard conversations between his parents over the years. As good as the movie could have been, it is marred by two obvious flaws. First, there is the central incident which comes late in the film, so I will not spoil it except to say that I believe the correct turn of phrase is cutting off the nose to spite the face. Since the resolution of the movie hangs on this one scene, then it is very important that it be credible. Of which I have my doubts, even though the movie's central story is based on a true story. So, did this really happen? Second, Francois(who is probably scarred for life from seeing his parents have sex) boils the entire Holocaust down to people having more love for their pets than their fellow human beings. He is right that this is definitely a misplacement of priorities but not a very serious one and he has it the wrong way around, anyway.(He is also wrong about his father. In mourning the death of his dog, old memories are suddenly brought to the surface, much like with the stuffed toy thirty years previously.) The Nazis(and any other genocidal maniacs, for that matter) lowered their intended victims to the level of animals, so as to make it that much easier to kill them.