Bucharest, before and during World War II, where Bernard Davidescou
lives with his parents and his older brother on Triumph Street, in the
middle of a courtyard block inhabited by a dozen Jewish families and two
Christian ones. When Romania, under General Ion Antonescu's
dictatorship, allies itself with Hitler and invades the USSR, the Jews
in Bucharest face the threat of being sent to the Nazi extermination
camps, after having survived the terror of the fascist Iron Guard.
However, each Sunday morning, young Bernard, age twelve, passionate
about politics and history, amazes the adults in the courtyard, Jews and
Christians alike, with his analysis of the political situation in
Romania and the development of the war on all fronts.
'Rue du Triomphe' is the story of this young boy and his dreams and
torments during this dark period of human history, while also
chronicling a family in crisis, the discovery of sexuality and first
loves, and the distraction offered by the cinema, religious searching
and idealistic aspirations for a better world.