In My Name Is Sara, a teenage Polish actress named Zuzanna Surowy plays Sara who, along with her younger brother Moishe, is forced to flee after the Nazis slaughtered the rest of their family in 1942. The pair breaks up as Moishe thinks Sara has a better chance of enduring alone because she is more Gentile-passing. In an effort to survive, Sara lies about her identity and moves in with a farming couple.
Sara's true identity is almost revealed in a few scenes, putting her life at risk. She tries to cast off suspicion by crossing herself and eating pork, but it still makes for some tense moments in the film. The young actress' performance is chilling and makes you feel for the character, an impressive achievement from someone with no prior experience. My Name is Sara also focuses on the marital problems of the couple Sara is working for, showing how most people were hounded and intimidated by Soviet "liberators" and hostile Jewish partisans.
By the time we reach the end of the film, Sara has reclaimed her name and Jewish identity, making hers one of the few uplifting Holocaust stories. The narrative is touching and the performances admirable. My Name is Sara is recommended if you are looking to learn more about the Holocaust and what its survivors did to live.
What film collection would this film be suitable for?
My Name is Sara would fit as a drama film owing to the unending tension throughout the film surrounding Sara’s identity and her employer’s secrets.
Can this film be used in a library education program?
My Name is Sara is an interesting film that would fit multiple library education programs. The focus on war and what some have to do to survive can benefit those looking to study World War II and its effects on people’s lives.
My Name is Sara tells the true life story of Sara Goralnik, a 13-year-old Polish Jew whose entire family was killed by Nazis in September 1942. After a grueling escape to the Ukrainian countryside, Sara steals her Christian best friend’s identity and finds refuge in a small village, where she is taken in by a farmer and his young wife. She soon discovers the dark secrets of her employers’ marriage, compounding her own greatest secret that she must strive to protect, her true identity.
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Robert Palka
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Robert Palka