The Roundup

An emotionally wrenching film, THE ROUNDUP boldly confronts a wartime stain on French history. The eyes of a boy are opened to unspeakable terror when his family is caught up in the “Rafle du Vel d'Hiv.” On a beautiful summer's day in 1942, 13,000 Parisian Jews are rounded up by the Nazi collaborationist government and locked in an indoor cycle track. With no water to drink or lavatory facilities, chaos ensues and volunteer doctors and nurses in the arena are soon overwhelmed. The families are sent from this velodrome to a French-run transit camp, and from there in cattle cars to their deaths. Mélanie Laurent, star of “Inglourious Basterds,” plays a Protestant nurse who risks her life to stay with the children. THE ROUNDUP is based on the life of Joseph Weismann, now 80, who was one of more than 4,000 children taken during the raids. France has only recently acknowledged its role in the tragedy, and only recently has Mr. Weismann spoken of his suffering at the hands of his countrymen: “It's important to tell this story to the youth of today. It is they who will write the story of tomorrow.” (In French, German, and Hebrew with subtitles) –B.B.