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Is it worth $10? Yes
Sometimes it’s better to not know. Victor spends much of “One Day You’ll Understand” obsessing over what his family endured during the Holocaust, particularly his Jewish mother, who married into an Aryan family and still felt grave danger throughout World War II.
Why seek knowledge that can only bring pain? Because it also brings clarity and understanding. Victor has wondered his entire life about what happened to his grandparents, and with his father deceased and his secretive and aging mother refusing to discuss her experience, his curiosity has turned to desperation. Solemnly, he feels like part of him will never be fulfilled if he doesn’t get these answers, and because of Hippolyte Girardot’s persuasive performance as Victor, we want him to know.
The year is 1987, and in Lyon, France, the war crimes trial of former Gestapo officer Klaus Barbie has reignited Victor’s curiosity about his family’s past. As he sorts through photographs, letters and memorabilia, the documents he discovers suggest the fate of his parents and grandparents during the war. A trip to the tiny village where his grandparents hid during the war only piques his curiosity even more, although it still leaves him without definitive answers, and his mother (Jeanne Moreau) refuses to share her memories with him.
The frequently lengthy, unbroken shots may make the pacing seem slow, but at 90 minutes director Amos Gitai tells the story for maximum emotional impact. Best of all, the ensemble performances are strong throughout, particularly Moreau, whose face often says it all. Note in particular a scene in which Victor’s wife, Francoise (Emmanuelle Devos), visits Moreau’s Rivka. Moreau brilliantly conveys sorrow, longing and concern in an extended close-up, quickly telling us everything we need to know with her eyes and forced smile.
The assumed guilt of the children of Holocaust survivors is a touchy subject, but it’s handled with a tacit honesty in “One Day You’ll Understand” that avoids melodrama. As a result, the movie works.
Did you know? Klaus Barbie is said to be responsible for the deaths of roughly 4,000 people, which earned him the nickname of the “Butcher of Lyon.” At his 1987 trial he was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison; he died in 1991 of leukemia.
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