Sarah's Key
On the night of 16 July 1942, ten year old Sarah and her parents are being arrested and transported to the Velodrome d'Hiver in Paris where thousands of other jews are being sent to get deported. Sarah however managed to lock her little brother in a closet just before the police entered their apartment. Sixty years later, Julia Jarmond, an American journalist in Paris, gets the assignment to write an article about this raid, a black page in the history of France. She starts digging archives and through Sarah's file discovers a well kept secret about her own in-laws.
Working with a modest budget of $10.0M, the film achieved a modest success with $17.5M in global revenue (+75% profit margin).
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Sarah's Key (2010) showcases precise narrative architecture, characteristic of Gilles Paquet-Brenner's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 13-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 51 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.4, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Julia Jarmond, an American journalist in Paris, lives comfortably with her French husband Bertrand and daughter Zoë. She is preparing to write an article about the 1942 Vel d'Hiv roundup while planning to move into Bertrand's family apartment.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when Julia discovers that Bertrand's family apartment - the one they're about to move into - was occupied by a Jewish family during the war. The apartment's history directly connects to the Vel d'Hiv roundup she's investigating, making her research suddenly personal.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 28 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Julia makes the active choice to pursue the truth about what happened to the family despite Bertrand's objections and family pressure to drop it. She commits to finding out what happened to Sarah Starzynski, crossing into a world of buried family secrets., moving from reaction to action.
At 55 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat Julia discovers she is pregnant. This false defeat comes as her marriage to Bertrand crumbles over her investigation and their age difference becomes stark - he doesn't want another child. The stakes of uncovering truth versus preserving her present life intensify., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 82 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Julia learns that Sarah committed suicide decades earlier, taking her own life on her son William's birthday. The woman Julia has been searching for is dead - there will be no reunion, no answers from Sarah herself, only the permanent loss and the whiff of death that permeates this story., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 88 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Julia gives William his mother's story and the key to the apartment. She leaves Bertrand, choosing truth and new life over comfortable denial. She decides to keep her baby, embracing motherhood on her own terms and honoring both Sarah's memory and her own autonomy., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Sarah's Key's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 13 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Sarah's Key against these established plot points, we can identify how Gilles Paquet-Brenner utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Sarah's Key within the drama genre.
Gilles Paquet-Brenner's Structural Approach
Among the 2 Gilles Paquet-Brenner films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.3, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Sarah's Key represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Gilles Paquet-Brenner filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman. For more Gilles Paquet-Brenner analyses, see Dark Places.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Julia Jarmond, an American journalist in Paris, lives comfortably with her French husband Bertrand and daughter Zoë. She is preparing to write an article about the 1942 Vel d'Hiv roundup while planning to move into Bertrand's family apartment.
Theme
Julia's editor tells her that the Vel d'Hiv story matters because "the past is always in the present" - establishing the film's central theme about how historical truth and hidden family secrets cannot remain buried.
Worldbuilding
Intercut between 1942 (young Sarah Starzynski locks her brother in a cupboard during the Nazi roundup, believing she'll return soon) and 2009 (Julia begins researching the Vel d'Hiv roundup). Both timelines establish the historical horror and Julia's comfortable but emotionally distant modern life.
Disruption
Julia discovers that Bertrand's family apartment - the one they're about to move into - was occupied by a Jewish family during the war. The apartment's history directly connects to the Vel d'Hiv roundup she's investigating, making her research suddenly personal.
Resistance
Julia debates whether to dig deeper despite Bertrand's family's resistance. She uncovers evidence that the Tezac family may have been complicit in taking over the apartment. Meanwhile, Sarah's 1942 timeline shows her desperate attempts to survive and return to her brother.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Julia makes the active choice to pursue the truth about what happened to the family despite Bertrand's objections and family pressure to drop it. She commits to finding out what happened to Sarah Starzynski, crossing into a world of buried family secrets.
Mirror World
Sarah discovers her brother Michel dead in the cupboard where she locked him, having starved while she was imprisoned. This devastating moment mirrors Julia's thematic journey - both women confront unbearable truths that cannot be undone, only carried forward.
Premise
Julia investigates Sarah's fate, tracking down survivors and records. She discovers Sarah survived, was adopted, and eventually moved to the United States. Parallel timeline shows Sarah's trauma and guilt as she tries to build a new life while haunted by her brother's death.
Midpoint
Julia discovers she is pregnant. This false defeat comes as her marriage to Bertrand crumbles over her investigation and their age difference becomes stark - he doesn't want another child. The stakes of uncovering truth versus preserving her present life intensify.
Opposition
Julia's marriage deteriorates as she obsessively pursues Sarah's story to America. Bertrand's family tries to shut down her investigation. She faces increasing pressure to have an abortion and abandon the search. Meanwhile, adult Sarah's suicide in the 1980s is revealed, showing the permanent damage of her trauma.
Collapse
Julia learns that Sarah committed suicide decades earlier, taking her own life on her son William's birthday. The woman Julia has been searching for is dead - there will be no reunion, no answers from Sarah herself, only the permanent loss and the whiff of death that permeates this story.
Crisis
Julia processes the devastating truth that Sarah never escaped her trauma. She must decide what to do with the knowledge she's gained, her failing marriage, and her pregnancy. She sits with the weight of intergenerational trauma and the cost of uncovering truth.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
Julia gives William his mother's story and the key to the apartment. She leaves Bertrand, choosing truth and new life over comfortable denial. She decides to keep her baby, embracing motherhood on her own terms and honoring both Sarah's memory and her own autonomy.