Hands Up

HANDS UP is the exciting story of Milana, an 11-year-old immigrant from Chechnya, and the friends from many countries who band together to help her. Fighting illegal immigration is a top priority of President Nicolas Sarkozy's French government, whose goal is to deport 25,000 people per year. Milana and her mother have been in France for years, and Milana seems so French that it's a shock to realize she's a foreigner. When the family of one of Milana's friends gets caught in the deportation net, the 5th graders take action to make sure they don't lose Milana too. Devising a clever hiding place and an elaborate scheme involving cell phone ringtones that's designed to outwit the adults, the entire gang of kids goes underground. Naturally they're soon missed; their families are beside themselves with worry, and the media goes wild. The kids' actions force the community to take stock and reconsider their priorities. Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, who plays a sympathetic mom, became President Sarkozy's sister-in-law soon after making this movie. (In French with subtitles) –B.B.