Knowing the story of Simone Veil is knowing a bit of the European and French history. She was arrested at 15 because she sang the international outside her home. She was deported by the French government, survived Auschwitz, Death marches, and Bergen-Belsen. She was one of the only females attending the Science Po school at the time, married, had 3 children, decided to get back to her studies against what society wanted from her. She then became one of the first female magistrates, and helped get the prisoners' condition to a humane one. She was appointed as Health Minister and managed to make abortion legal, helped addicts and people suffering from AIDS... She was elected president of the first universally elected European Parliament, the 6th woman to get into to the Académie française, the 5th woman to get into the Panthéon... She fought for the rights of women, she was one of the first politicians to talk about collaboration in France. She was one of the reasons why France and Germany got closer after the war, she fought for Europe as a way to prevent history from happening again. Her life and actions made her a hero for many people in France, which is why a movie was made on her. And what a movie. It is of course a difficult one, but so many things happened to that incredible woman that we need to see it. The movie is a non linear one, which is not my favourite, and sometimes you get bits of stories that don't have any link to the one before, which makes you lose a bit of the plot. But I would still recommend it, at least to see history being made in front of your eyes, by a woman who fought against everything that was thrown against her, for the dignity of the weak.
Review of Simone: Woman of the Century
