Font size options
Increase or decrease the font size for this website by clicking on the 'A's.
Contrast options
Choose a color combination to give the most comfortable
contrast.
An award-winning film about two young Jewish brothers surviving in Nazi-occupied France, based on a true story. Co-presented by the Montclair Interfaith Clergy Association.
A feature film presentation in commemoration of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). Co-presented by the Montclair Interfaith Clergy Association. Open to patrons 13+, no registration required.
Release date: 2017. Runtime: 1:53. Subtitles. Original language: French. Unrated. Recommended for ages 13+
The true story of two young Jewish brothers in Nazi-occupied France who, with a mix of mischief, courage and ingenuity, are forced to fend for themselves in order to survive the enemy invasion and try bring their family back together. A heartwarming adaptation of Joseph Joffo's enduring memoir tells the story of the Nazi occupation through the eyes of the two boys.
Paris, 1941: Joseph and Maurice are the sons of Roman, the local barber. At ages 10 and 12, the boys have so little understanding of the persecution of Jews that Joseph thinks nothing of swapping his yellow star for a bag of marbles. Despite their naiveté, Roman knows that their best chance to escape the Nazi roundup is to flee on their own to Vichy, France, where their older brothers have found safe haven. Always one false step from tragedy, these tenacious children survive on courage, wit, and more than a bit of cunning as they make their precarious way through France hoping to reunite with their family. More than anything, it s their brotherly bond that gets them through their ordeals. The two boys register an almost agonizing vulnerability as hapless innocents trying to outrun the cruel machinery of war.
"Like its characters, “A Bag of Marbles” is perpetually on the move, running from one location to the next as the brothers must rely on the kindness of strangers while simultaneously keeping their guard up. It’s to the film’s credit that many of these side characters come off as vividly realized people in their own right”—Roger Ebert
Awards
Barcelona-Sant Jordi International Film Festival (2017)
Cinémental - Festival des films francophones au Manitoba (2017)
Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival (2017)
