Le temps des mots à voix baisse

Benjamin’s memories of his childhood are mostly related to his friendship with Oskar. They are inseparable – just like their fathers that spend summer evenings drinking red wine and loudly reciting good poetry in the garden behind the house. The voices get lower when the first signs of Nazi times set in. People in the small town begin to mistrust each other. Soon, nothing is like it used to be. Even the candy tastes somehow different. But not all voices quiet down, some of them get very much louder. For example the voice of the teacher who makes Oskar sit in the back because he is Jewish. As Oskar’s father loses work at the bank and his family has to move in the ghetto, Benjamin eavesdrops on the last discussion between the two fathers. It becomes clear to him that spending time with Oskar is over – but their friendship is not.