Film follows Auschwitz survivors who reunite on a beach in France

To Life, the story of three Holocaust survivors, opens in Toronto and Montreal May 20.
'To Life,' the story of three Holocaust survivors, opens in Toronto and Montreal May 20.

Three Jewish women, Auschwitz survivors, reunite in 1960 for the first time at a beach resort in northern France in To Life (À La Vie), a warm, touching movie opening in Toronto and Montreal on May 20.

To Life opens in Auschwitz as the Nazis are clearing the camp and ordering the infamous Death March at the end of the war. Then we see Hélène, one of the three women, return to her home in Paris. She has lost contact with the two women she was close with in the camps, Lili and Rose. She believes that while Lili survived, Rose perished during the chaotic camp evacuation.

In Paris, Hélène marries her childhood sweetheart, also a survivor, who is impotent due to sterility tests conducted on him in the camp.

Hélène, admirably played by Julie Depardieu (Gérard’s daughter) is determined to reunite with Lili and puts a classified ad in the deportees newspaper each year until finally, 15 years later, she hears from Lili and the two plan to reunite at the resort in Berck Plage.

In Berck Plage, Lili (Johanna ter Steege) surprises her by bringing Rose, who did in fact survive the war, and is now living in Montreal.

Hélène is thrilled, yet understandably upset at the surprise. “What if I had a weak heart?”  she admonishes Lili. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

If the three women weren’t in their mid-30s now, one could easily describe what follows as a “coming-of-age” movie. Hélène, who admits to still being a virgin despite being married, is courted by a couple of men, including the young Pierre, who oversees the Mickey Mouse Club, a play area for children.

But behind the playfulness of the resort setting, replete with vintage late-’50s automobiles and roller-pinned coiffures, lurks, as one would expect, survivors’ guilt and secrets.

READ: DAUGHTER SPOTS HER TEENAGED SURVIVOR MOTHER IN YOUTUBE VIDEO

Rose (Suzanne Clément) refuses to even talk about Auschwitz, making the other two promise not to bring it up at all. As with many survivors, she hates waste and makes them all use one teabag for the duration of their vacation.

And so, as far away from the Holocaust as possible,  amongst the flirtations, the sunny weather, the Twist, bikinis and floral dresses, the three friends come to grips with their past and the secrets they  buried there. Questions are slowly answered. Why didn’t Lili tell Hélène that Rose survived? Why does Rose refuse to talk about Auschwitz?

Directed by Jean-Jacques Zilbermann and inspired by his mother’s life story (he previously filmed the documentary  Irene and Her Sisters about her), the feature is very moving and, at the same time, sprinkled with humour and romance. The setting, a French beach resort in the early ’60s, also adds a sense of joie-de-vivre to this otherwise emotional story. It meanders at times, especially with the storyline of Hélène’s communist suitor, but otherwise there’s much to enjoy in To Life.


See below for an exclusive two-minute clip from the film. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUlWg8w0Zcg&feature=youtu.be