Remember the Roses

ROBERT VALERY is the hero of Remember the Roses. Robert functions as an Allied WWII special ops agent known for his reckless daring and success on high-risk missions. He has, however, become sobered by the injustices of war, and his faith in humanity and in himself is crumbling as he has lost nearly everyone close to him to the war, including his diplomat father. As the outcome of the war hangs in the balance, ironically, Robert is the man sent to "dispense" of the leader of the French Underground before he breaks under the Gestapo to reveal the D-Day secrets. But on his "suicide" mission, Robert falls into a Nazi trap, only to be "rescued" by a beautiful yet mysterious young French woman named "Jehane." Forced to depend on Jehane to survive, Robert cannot help but admire her deeply inspired loyalty to the cause... as she eventually rekindles his convictions. Sent on a mission to save the outcome of the war, Robert effectively saves himself as he falls hopelessly in love with Jehane... only to realize that she might not have ever existed. Beneath his hardened yet demure "James Bond" exterior, Robert hides the cynical romanticism of someone like "Rick" in Casablanca, combined with the soul of "Maximus" in Gladiator.

JEHANE LEBRUN is our co-lead. The resilient and engaging Jehane is a beautiful rifle-wielding young woman who rescues Robert from the Nazi trap he falls into on arrival in France. Jehane claims to be a member of the Underground, but oddly, no one recognizes her. Haunted by the atrocities of her past, Jehane is a "child of war" who wavers on the edge of sanity, yet exudes a deeply felt belief in humanity fueled by her transcendental faith in something much greater. Jehane seems to possess an almost paranormal intuition which closely rivals her tenacity. She takes a special liking to Robert and eventually wins him over with her "tomboy-ish" charm... as she brings out the heroic romanticism in his soul. Designed as a two-fisted avenging angel ala "Trinity" in The Matrix but with the subtle emotional sensitivity of Nikita in La Femme Nikita, Jehane will make us smile and cry at the same time.

PAUL SENNET has been entrusted by the Allies with the knowledge of the D-Day landings. An outspoken diplomat whose life Robert’s crippled father dramatically saves at the time of Hitler's rise to power, Paul has since traded diplomacy for a rifle to command the French Underground against the Nazis in occupied France. When Paul falls into the hands of the Gestapo, he must balance his trust in his undying faith and strength to overcome the brutality of his Nazi interrogators with the reality that everyone eventually cracks under the Gestapo... and that the only certain way to keep "silent" might be by provoking the Gestapo to cross the line... Possessing the critical information that can turn the balance of the war, the Sennet role is the element that holds the story together.

THOMAS WERNER studied to be an engineer prior to the war. Drafted into the German military, Thomas serves faithfully until an innocent young Jewish woman named "Violette" turns to him outside the gas chamber... Beneath his Nazi uniform, Thomas now hides an undying love for the woman he has saved as Violette risks her life as a dedicated member of the French Underground, fiercely loyal to the cause of Paul Sennet. Their forbidden love is unknown to both the Underground and the Nazis. The couple dreams of escaping to Spain before the Allied invasion, but the events surrounding Sennet’s capture force Thomas to re-evaluate what love is all about. He decides to help Violette in aiding Robert's mission into the Gestapo-held castle, betraying everything he was born into, and risking everything for a love that defies the borders war.

VIOLETTE is a dedicated Jewish French Underground nurse, secretly and deeply in love with a German soldier named "Thomas," stationed at Rouen Castle. In her darkest hour after losing her father to the Nazis, Violette finds hope in the leadership of the much older Paul Sennet. Fiercely loyal to Sennet and the Underground, Violette finds herself drawn by uncontrollable events into the danger surrounding Robert's efforts to rescue Sennet... inspiring Thomas... and eventually leading to her own tragic demise. Violette and Thomas become a "Romeo and Juliet" such that we have never seen before.