The Ritz Bartender

June 1940. The Germans enter Paris. Curfew is in effect everywhere, except at the grand Ritz Hotel. Eager to discover the French art of living, the occupiers mingle with the Parisian elite, while behind the bar works Frank Meier, the greatest bartender in the world.Adapting is a matter of survival. Frank Meier proves to be a skillful diplomat, winning the sympathy of German officers, buying his tranquility, but also that of Luciano, his apprentice, and of the enigmatic and unsettling Blanche Auzello. For four years, Gestapo men will toast with Coco Chanel, the terrible Ritz widow, or even Sacha Guitry. These men and women, collaborators or resistance fighters, heroes or war profiteers, will love each other, betray each other, and also fight for a certain idea of civilization.Most of them are unaware that Meier, an Austrian emigrant, a veteran of 1914, and conductor of this strange ballet, hides a heavy secret. The Ritz bartender is Jewish.Philippe Collin masterfully reconstructs a troubled era with meticulous historical precision. Through the destiny of this unknown man, he becomes the eyes and ears of an occupied France, and tells the eternal confrontation between fear and courage.