"It smells like Mame." "The first time I saw Mame she was standing right there." "I was on my best behaviour." "Tried to convince her.." "that "La Petite American" was... good enough for her beloved grandson." "Mom, she is still alive." "These are our rich competitors'." "And this is us." "Not exactly a barrel of laughs." " Times are tough." " That's why... we're gonna try and imagine an ideal society... a utopia for the 21st century." "You want us to do something on plastic surgery?" "No, the naked woman is just to boost sales." "The idea is to focus on all the ... good things the future can hold once the crisis is over." "Biotechnology, nanotechnology, the new space race." " Positive thinking." " From a grumpy old pessimist." "Look, I'm not going to force anyone." "Just think about it." "Besides, people can use a breath of fresh air." "And I'm not that old." "Also we want to do something on the Middle East; the Obama administration.." "I leave that to the London office." "What else?" "Ah yes..." "I want to do something on the state ruling in favour of the deportee's daughter in that case against the state and the SNCF." "She won?" "Yes." "Breaking news." "Chirac's speech on the Vel' d'Hiv..." " has borne fruit." " On what?" "The Vel' d'Hiv." "How do you spell that?" " You're kidding." " What happened?" "In July 1942... 16 and July 17, 1942... they arrested 13,000 Jews." "Mostly women and children." "They took 8000 of them, put 'em in the Velodrome.." "in inhuman conditions." "Imagine the Superdome in New Orleans..." " only a million times worse." " A million times worse." "And then they sent them to the camps." "You seem to know your stuff." "I covered the 60th anniversary for Time Magazine..." "I wanted to do a feature and they gave me half a page." "Which is why you're gonna give me 10 pages." "Ten pages?" "No Julia, I can't give you 10 pages." "Why not?" "Readers love history." "Most of them haven't even heard of it." "Look at these guys." "Apologies from the youth of today." "So let me understand correctly:" "its an old indoor cycling track?" "It should be beautiful." "Where is it?" " Torn down 50 years ago." " Any photos?" "None." "That's the point." "Over 10,000 people together for days." "No bed, no toilets, barely any water." " And not an image exists." " There is one." "There is a wide shot looking down at some buses outside." "That's it." "It's weird." "I mean, normally they were very good at that." "They documented everything, the Nazis." "That's what they were known for." "Mike..." "This was not the Germans." "It was the French." "Isn't it dangerous at your age?" "I'll get an amniocentesis." "You can still have a miscarriage." "Yeah." "I could get hit by a bus." "Why are you doing this?" "You've been through so much already." "Because it feels right." "And if Bertrand's supportive it'll be okay." "Yes, if he's supportive..." "I can understand he does not want to find himself knee deep in dirty diapers... after 12 years, and there's all those sleepless nights." "You guys are both too old for this." "Great." "Thanks." "That really helps a lot." "Sorry." "Anyway, tell me about the apartment?" "What's the latest?" "I mean, its absolutely crazy." "Does that mean that they stole it?" "No, back then the Marais was kind of... like the Lower East Side." "Jewish immigrants were tenants, not owners." "What does Bertrand think about it?" "He doesn't know yet." "I haven't had the guts to tell him." "Look sis." "You are New Yorker and a fighter." "25 years in France will not change anything." "You do what you gotta do." "Easier said than done." "Wladyslaw and Rywka Starzynski." "Both executed at Auschwitz in 1942." "No Sarah, no Michel..." "the Starzynski children aren't on any list of deportees... niether in Poland or Germany." "I'm sure they escaped." "Julia, you're obsessing." "Well, wouldn't you be?" "These people could be anywhere." "They may still be alive." "Ok." "And what are you going to do?" "Give them back their flat?" "Yeah." "Why not?" "I would just let sleeping dogs lie." "It's my father-in-law." "I just can't believe they didn't know anything." "Is that what they told you?" "I do not know how to bring it up." "Well, there's a simple way:" "Pick up the phone and ask them." "Julia, you're right." "We're going to put that online now to go with the article." "Nice speech, but its not going to bring anybody back." "Well, it made a lot of noise at the time." "This might carry a lot more weight." "Your article is amazing, Julia." "When I think that this all happened right in the middle of Paris in front of everyone, it is absolutely disgusting." "How do you know what you would have done?" "What do you mean?" "If you had been there, how do you know... what you would have done?" "I would have just watched it all on TV... like the bombing of civilians in Iraq.." "Afghanistan.." "Mike, please." " What's going on with Julia, does anybody know?" " I don't know." "Mom?" "Who's this?" "Its a little girl I'm trying to track down." "I'll tell you about it." "You'd tell me if there was something wrong, right?" "Oh Sweetie, of course." "Don't worry." "There you are." "I've been trying to reach you all day." "Aww.." "My phone was off the hook." " Mmm.." "Its good to see you." " And you." "Bertrand called." "He's worried sick." "You didn't tell him you were here." "What's going on?" "Did you go through with it?" "You have to talk to him." "I miss them too." " I wish I came home more often." " So do I." "Did you find what I asked you for?" "Yes." "Any idiot with an internet connection could have." "There are five Rainsferds in Brooklyn." "Up to you to find the right one." "Why're you doing this?" "What do you expect to find?" "I don't know." "Someone." "I am looking for Sarah or Richard Rainsferd." "No, never heard of them." "Sorry." "Thanks anyway." "Hi." "I am looking for Richard and Sarah Rainsferd." "No, no Richard or Sarah here." "And anyone in your family?" "No, I'm sorry." "Ok, take care." "Sorry to bother you sir." "Are you Richard Rainsferd?" "Bob Rainsferd." "Do you know Sarah or Richard?" "No, sorry." "Ok." "Thank you for your time." "So." "Next is..." "Hi, can I help you?" "I am looking for Mrs. Rainsferd, but I'm not sure this is the right house." "Oh it is." "My mother is out shopping." "You're a friend?" "No, not a friend." "I just know some of her family." " Oh, in Europe?" " Yeah, in Europe." "You live in the city now?" "No, I live in Paris." "But I grew up here." "Wow." "The most beautiful city in the world." "I love Paris." " Did your mother tell you that?" " My mother loves to talk about Rome." "Excuse me." "Hello." "We'll be here all day." "That was Amber, my father's nurse." "She'll be coming by soon." "Oh." "Is he sick?" "I'm sorry." "My Mom is strong, though." "She's always the one cheering us all up." "So.." "Oh." "That's her." "Excuse me." "I'll have to help her." "It was in 1966." "Probably a tire blew out." "The truck driver claimed she just swerved towards him ... and there was nothing he could do." "I met Richard two years later." "At first he didn't want to get remarried." "In some way he... he wanted to remain always Sarah's husband." "But the years went by... and finally he changed his mind." "And so, here we are." "Their son lives in Italy." "She had a son?" "William, my half-brother." "He was nine ... when Sarah had her accident." "Afterwards, it was difficult, of course." "But I raised him like my own." "I taught him to love Italy... to eat pasta." "And by chance he met a woman... from the village where I was born... and he never came back." "He's living in Florence now." "It did him good to leave America... and to start over in Europe." "Its the nurse." "I must go." "May I speak to your husband?" "I do not know if its a good idea... to bring all this up again." "He is very sick, you know." "I understand." "And what about his son?" "Mom, I want you to be straight." "Are you having an affair?" "No, course not." "But why do you want to leave Dad." "What?" "I never said that." "Who told you that?" "No, but if you didn't why... would you leave like that to Florence?" "Oh, Sweetie..." "It's way more complicated than that." "Listen." "I'm coming home tomorrow... and we'll talk about it then, Ok?" "And the baby..." "You should have told me about it." "That affects me too, you know." "I know, I'm sorry." " Don't you want us to have a little baby?" " I didn't say that." "Actually, I'd love to have a little brother." "Or a little sister." "Whatever." "Just don't count on me to change any diapers." "Oh." "I love you, choupinette." "What would you like to drink?" "Just water, that would be perfect." "You want dinner?" "Just drink something." "Water and a glass of Brunello." "So." "You are a journalist." "I looked you up." "And I read your amazing book on Tuscan cuisine." "Ha." "It's responsible for... ten pounds I haven't been able to lose." "What can I do for you?" "You're obviously way too young... to have known my mother." "I'm from the Tézac family." " Who?" " The Tézac." "I'm sorry, it doesn't ring a bell." "They took over the apartment at the rue de Saintonge... just after your mother's family were" "My father-in-law, Edouard Tézac was there... when they found your uncle Michel." "I don't have an uncle." "Your mother's younger brother." "My mother didn't have any brothers." "And I never heard of the Rue de Saintonge." "Perhaps you've mixed me up with someone else?" "No.Your mother's name was Sarah?" "Yes, my mother's name was Sarah Rainsferd." "And before that Sarah Dufaure." "And Starzynski, it doesn't mean anything to you?" "Starzynski?" "No." "I'm sorry." "I guess that means you've come all this way for nothing." "I'm so sorry." "You must be talking about some other Sarah." "What did you want to say to the son of this supposed Sarah..." "Do you recognize her?" "That's impossible." "No..." "There is a little resemblance, but..." "No." "This isn't my mother." "You're sure?" "Yes, I'm sure." "My mother wasn't..." "Jewish." "What are you up to?" "Why did you come here?" "To tell me my mother was called something else?" "That she was involved in this tragedy?" "Is that why you're here?" "I'm so sorry." "I thought you knew." "You thought I knew." "No, no." "This is insane." "My mother was French." "Her name was Dufaure." "She never had a brother." "She never lived in the rue de Saintonge because she never even lived in Paris." " You've got it all wrong." " No Please." "Let me explain." "I think you should know the whole story." "No, I don't want to know." "Please." "I think it is important." "Let me be clear." "I don't want to talk about this." "And I don't want to see you again." "Please do not call me." "Enjoy Florence." " Hi, Dad." " William..." "Aren't you supposed to be with your wife and kids?" "No, I should be right here, right now." "You saw that lady journalist, didn't you?" "Yes, the one with that crazy story." "I certainly did." "Sit down, William." " Let me help you." " Sit down." "You're not going to tell me thatany of that is true?" "Are you?" "I remember... the very first time I saw your mother." "It was in a dance hall in Manhattan." "There were two things that came to mind." "The first..." "She was the most incredibly beautiful... woman I'd ever seen in my life." "The second..." "In spite of her smile... she seemed to be hiding something." "We were having a good time." "But I sensed that... she felt uncomfortable with the world around her." "She felt like the saddest person..." "I had ever met." "I spent 10 years trying to erase that sadness." "But then I realised how impossible that was." "It wasn't an accident, you know." "What?" "Her accident... was not an accident." "Are you saying that she killed herself?" " Dad!" " Look." "In her final years... that depression kept getting worse and worse." "All the pills and the booze.." "Oh, God.." "Like there was something grey inside her... it kept growing all the time." "You want a shot?" " You won't tell on me, would you?" " No." "Go on." "We had some horrible arguments... about your identity." "What you should... what you shouldn't know." "We never agreed about anything." "She took precautions, too." "You know, right after you were born... she rushed out of the hospital with you... to a church to get you baptized." "I had to take a day off work so I wouldn't miss it." "For her, if you were Jewish... your life was in danger." "It's... irrational, sure, but..." "Everything's in here." "What is?" "What's it?" "We never talked about it... but I'm sure she would have wanted me to give you this." "Dad, why didn't you tell me?" "Why did you wait... until I'm fifty years old?" "I was weak." "My whole life is a lie." "William." "Look kid..." "Damn it." "You're the best thing that's happened to me." "I love you, kid, but.." "We are all a product of our history." "Yours happens to be in those pages." "Go on son." "Don't be afraid." "What's this?" "William?" "Julia?" "Sorry." "I don't know." "Even in France, they're shaking hands nowadays." " Hello, princess." "What's your name?" " Lucy." "Lucy." "Nice to meet you, Lucy." "I know it's a bit of a tourist trap." "But my mother used to take me here often as a kid." "She was enamoured with the view." "So..." "How long have you been here?" "Oh, I've been here about a year." "You just left everything?" "Well..." "Sorry, I'm not meaning to pry." "No..." " Can I take your order?" " I'll have a hot chocolate." "The Dufaure's kept everything." "This is amazing." "They must have been so happy... to meet you." "Yeah." "And I them." "These diaries made me realize..." "I didn't know my mother at all." "I mean, I knew her face... smile, smell." "But I didn't know anyting about her." "Her doubts, fears, her dreams." "And here I am: 40 years later... actually getting to know her." "Its so great of you to meet me." "When I got back from Italy, I was very depressed." "I suddenly realized how horribly selfish I'd been... digging around in other people's lives... stirring things up... and judging them even." "Yeah." "Who am I?" "So, thank you." "No, I thank you." "And thanks to you, my dad died with some peace." " What're you going to do now?" " I don't know." "Its weird, I really needed to come home." "And now I just feel like a foriegner." "So I guess France has a bigger part of me than I thought." "I may go back to Paris." "My oldest daughter doesn't like it here." "She just can't adapt." "And I want her to... be able to see her dad whenever she wants." "She's.. she's adorable your little Lucy." "Lucy?" "No." "Lucy's the the giraffe." "So what's her name, then?" "Sarah." "Sorry." "Its me." "I'm sorry." "Thank you."