Brave Hearts: The real story behind this movie with Camille Cotin?

The film, set against the backdrop of World War II, Cœurs vaillants, in cinemas from Wednesday, repeats the odyssey of 6 Jewish children hiding during the war, who went to find shelter where no one thinks about finding them …

Is the story of these children true? What inspired the co-writing of director Mona Achachi and Valerie Zenati, Jean Cotin, Christophe Offenstein and Anna Berest?

The starting point for this story is intimately related to filmmaker Mona Achache, as her grandmother (seen in her previous feature film Les Gazelles) was a child hiding during the war.

“She told me hidden baby stories. It was my connection to this horrible story: I remember his contrasting emotions, his childhood inattention and, at the same time, what he brought me back to between horror, horror. I was fascinated by this ambivalence. I said to myself: this is the power of childhood, to maintain this carelessness, this power, no matter what the context. This is a really great gateway (to talk about these topics)“He trusts our microphone.

The first inspiration is Rose Walland, curator of the Jeu de Paume Museum and a figure of resistance.

And add:Looking at history from a child perspective forms a historically incomplete narrative. But it was this subjectivity of their gaze that intrigued me. Emotions are also an excellent vector of identification. “I dreamed of a film that would light the way for the audience, which would arouse their curiosity and desire for more knowledge.”

It is the character played by Camille Cotin who is also freely inspired by a real historical figure. “The first inspiration was Rose Walland, curator of the Jeu de Paume Museum and a figure of resistance known for rescuing works looted by the Nazis in France. She was otherwise lesbian, free-thinking and emancipated. The character portrayed by Camille Cotin is not the character of Rose Walland, even though he led its construction.“, Continues the intentions set in the press team of Mona Achachi film.

It should be noted that the inspiration was also served by the director of the National Museums Jacques Jajar and the manager of the Shambord depot Pierre Schomer. Until November 1942, Cherry, near the River Chambour, served as the delimitation of the demarcation line and was the closest crossing point to Paris, according to the press kit.

“Even today, of course, we must continue to tell our stories, warned of all these questions. How do we talk to children about war? How can we awaken our conscience? I really wanted to make a film for them, with them, at their level. So the starting point is historically correct. We arrive at the Ch .teau de Chambord with boxes of paintings that were made during the war. The castle served as an attic for works of art from national museums. After that, fiction interferes because these kids never arrived in real life. But there were still more than 60,000. “

“Moreover, and sadly, even today, children face the horrors of war. It is from there that their gaze leads to a distortion of reality, it leads to an imperfect way of seeing things, to a more sensory perception. Emotions come with them. ”

“I did not want to make a film that would be a historic reconstruction that could have been almost shocking to children today. I wanted to connect with their emotions and that was the whole job as well as with the kids and Camille Cotin. Let us not look at these characters, not even these children, as we did yesterday, but as today’s children, with today’s emotions.“, Continues Mona Achache with our microphone.

Mona Achachi writes in the preamble of the film press team: “I want to thank my grandmother, Susan, who was very involved in my life in every way. His travel stories as a hidden child were my first lesson, a benevolent gateway, full of humanity, to the boundless horror of the show before my confrontation. How did you master such cruelty at this age? I wanted to make a film as a stepping stone for children, the first touch with the horror that they will get to know better later. I wish this film was a relay, as my grandmother was to me, to the more factual but substantial cruelty of history.“

Note that this film is dedicated to the grandmother of Mona Achache, who sadly died recently and was unable to watch the film. “He followed the whole genesis of the project and I discussed with him my desire for art to become its common theme. These kids read Tintin and went to the Louvre, singing, writing, painting … and when I asked him what he read in 1942, he replied, “Nothing is impossible at Cœur Vaillant!” “, Which gave the film its name. “

Since the filming, Chateau de Chambour now has a room dedicated to this episode of World War II, with elements of film decor. Work is also underway to get teachers to use the film to tell children today about the history of yesterday.

Finally, it should be noted that novel novels are available in bookstores: Coeurs vaillants, a book from the film by Anna Kalik, Mona Achachi.