In a little park, a bronze bust is unveiled in front of an admiring public. The bust is meant to honor the memory of a local doctor who hid and treated Resistance fighters during World War II. On the occasion of this small ceremony, the doctor's son - now a fully adult and ageing man himself - meets again with some of his relatives, including a frail old aunt suffering from dementia. He gets to hear a strange anecdote about the aunt smuggling a fortune in gold coins, in her corsets...
In "Mémoires en fuite", a man happens upon a strange tale that causes him to examine his family's past, complete with secrets and ruses. Following a series of ever more disquieting clues, he will eventually uncover a heart-breaking tragedy involving his father, his sister and his sister's admirer. Part of the subject material is rooted in an actual banking scandal, to wit the notable reluctance, shown by some Swiss banks, to hand over the money stored by or on behalf of Jewish customers. (In the wake of World War II, there have been numerous cases where people went to claim the money left to them by dead parents or grandparents, only in order to be shown the door on some pretext.)
"Mémoires" is quite a good television movie, with fine acting and a melancholy intrigue. It all works up to a human story of grief and guilt worthy of a Greek tragedy. The well-chosen sets and exteriors, all of them filmed with an admirable competence, add considerably to the general atmosphere.
In "Mémoires en fuite", a man happens upon a strange tale that causes him to examine his family's past, complete with secrets and ruses. Following a series of ever more disquieting clues, he will eventually uncover a heart-breaking tragedy involving his father, his sister and his sister's admirer. Part of the subject material is rooted in an actual banking scandal, to wit the notable reluctance, shown by some Swiss banks, to hand over the money stored by or on behalf of Jewish customers. (In the wake of World War II, there have been numerous cases where people went to claim the money left to them by dead parents or grandparents, only in order to be shown the door on some pretext.)
"Mémoires" is quite a good television movie, with fine acting and a melancholy intrigue. It all works up to a human story of grief and guilt worthy of a Greek tragedy. The well-chosen sets and exteriors, all of them filmed with an admirable competence, add considerably to the general atmosphere.