Cécile De France, Patrick Bruel, Ludivine Sagnier

Adapted from Philippe Grimbert's bestselling novel, "A Secret" is a story of passion and guilt in troubled times, which unfolds as a young teenager uncovers the truth about his parents' past. He finds...( read more  read more... ) out that before the war, his father Maxime was married to Hannah when he fell madly in love with his mother Tania. As a young Jewish couple living in Nazi-occupied France, Maxime and Tania had to make difficult choices to survive the war and the Holocaust.

Flixster Users

62% liked it

2,828 ratings

Critics

80% liked it

50 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 47 min.

Directed by: Claude Miller

Release Date: June 5, 2008

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DVD Release Date: March 10, 2009

Stats: 323 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (323)


  • August 10, 2009
    There?s a moment in ?A Secret,? Claude Miller?s absorbing adaptation of the autobiographical Philippe Grimberg novel, when a French Jew, operating with a false gentile passport during the World War II Nazi occupation, makes a decision under questioning that seals her fate, along ...( read more)with her son?s. For the purposes of narrative surprise we?ll keep it vague; it?s enough to say that her actions, made with a heavy, breaking heart, do not constitute one of those trumped-up ?Sophie?s Choice? moral dilemmas that aren?t really moral dilemmas at all. (?Sophie?s Choice,? both on the page and on the screen, reduces its tragic heroine?s grim choice to a terrible, no-win situation, which isn?t the same thing as moral complexity.) Here, though, the choices made force the audience to regard a key character in a new way. And while Miller?s film brings a touch of gloss to its melange of remembrance and romantic triangulation, it tells its painful story briskly and well. In the early sections of ?A Secret,? set in the recent past, Mathieu Almaric plays Francois, who looks back at life with his fabulously charismatic fitness-minded parents, competitive swimmer Tania (Cecile de France) and gymnast Maxime (French pop star Patrick Bruel). Solitary and bookish, the young Francois we see in flashbacks invents for himself an imaginary brother. Then, at 15, he learns the truth about his parents? wartime life, in the decade prior to Francois? childhood. That secretive past involves a half-brother he never knew. The acting is exceptional. If parts of ?A Secret? veer toward soap opera, the ensemble work reduces the suds to a minimum.
  • November 17, 2008
    Thought this was going to be another typical movie about jews in WWII, but it wasn't. I was pleasantly surprised.
  • September 29, 2009
    Una excelente pelicula Francesa con hermosa fotografía y ambientación de los 40´s en la Francia de la ocupación nazi. Basikmte se narra la historia de un niño (x cierto es una historia basada en hechos reales) q des de q nacio fue muy delicado y enfermizo, el cual al ir creciendo...( read more) se sentía menospreciado y q decepcionaba n todo a sus padres sentía q no era lo suficientemente bueno para enorgullecelos, sin entender el xq de esto crece con inseguridades e insertidumbre, hasta q un buen día una de las amigas cercanas de la familia (q lo kiere y cuida muchisimo) decide contarle la verdad y así poder entender a sus padres. Me encantó, no dejen de verla!!!
  • May 13, 2009
    secret movie i doint know wat the ell present in it bt one ting we shouldnt ever reveal secret of oters
  • March 18, 2009
    As usual most historical films, particularly produced in the country of origin, are easy to enjoy for me. I enjoyed this film and the only drawback was the sometimes drawn out or dragged out scenes that seems to be a favorite thing for some French film directors.
  • December 18, 2008
    J'en ai un peu marre de tout ces films sur ce sujet. Je suis lassee et Claude Miller n'échappe pas au pieges tendus, cad le folklore et la naivete.
  • December 10, 2008
    no thanks not my kinda thing
  • June 29, 2008
    Un Secret es una historia real y asi esta contada. Los personajes son tan creibles como la realdad misma. Y aunque en el principio pretende tomar un vuelo que no cuaja, se va componiendo y conmueve. La actuacion de Cecile de France, es excelente.
  • October 24, 2007
    La réalisation de Miller passe d?hier à aujourd?hui en inversant les codes couleur, le présent est en noir et blanc et le passé mort, en couleurs vives.
    The realisation of Miller is truly well done, going to yesterday in bright colors and present in black and white, is a way of ...( read more)defining this unique film of a jewish family who no longer look ordinary after " a secret" is revealed. Good french movie !

Critic Reviews


December 19, 2008
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

A structural mess that turns contrived just when it should be hitting home. full review

October 24, 2008
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

A Secret is a showcase for great acting. full review

September 10, 2008
Bob Mondello, NPR.org

Claude Miller's ravishingly shot drama gives up its titular mystery early, but there's plenty of cinematic intrigue well after what's covert in this complicated family story becomes overt. full review

September 10, 2008
Bob Mondello, NPR

Claude Miller's ravishingly shot drama gives up its titular mystery early, but there's plenty of cinematic intrigue well after what's covert in this complicated family story becomes overt. full review

September 5, 2008
Marcy Dermansky, About.com

French filmmaker Claude Miller has crafted a traditional, engrossing narrative in A Secret, the story of a Jewish family in France in the aftermath of the Holocaust. full review

September 5, 2008
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Claude Miller's haunting new movie is called A Secret. But the gist of this story of repression and family tragedy is that secrets are rarely singular. full review

View more Un Secret (A Secret) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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