With lockdowns and travel restrictions in place around the world due to COVID-19, production has shut down on many films. Which is why anyone coming across one French district might think they had somehow been transported back to Paris in 1942.
The facades of buildings on Rue Berthe and Rue Androuet in Montmartre were transformed to look like Paris during WWII for the film, Adieu Monsieur Haffmann. With shop fronts created to reflect a cordonnerie (shoe repair shop), a brocanteur (second-hand goods shop), and corset, alcohol and mirror stores, the set was designed to reflect the city in the time of of Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1944, complete with war propaganda posters and signs in German.
Filming had been taking place on the streets, but when when France went into lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus, the crew were forced to abandon the set. The historical film is directed by Fred Cavayé, and stars Daniel Auteuil, Sara Giraudeau and Gilles Lellouche. Originally due for release in 2021, it's an adaptation of an award-winning play by by Jean-Philippe Daguerre.
The plot centres around François Mercier, an ordinary man who is the employed by talented Jewish jeweller, Joseph Haffmann, and aspires to start a family with Blanche, the woman he loves. Joseph is forced to hide in the cellar of his shop as the Nazis take over the city, and Jews are being rounded up and sent to the death camps. He entrusts his shop to François, and they come to an agreement that upsets the fate of the three characters.
The film set is likely to remain in place in Montmartre for another while, as the French lockdown is set to last until at least 15 April.
Keep up to date with Lonely Planet's latest travel-related COVID-19 news here.
