Wonderful Movie

Sadly Over-hyped

A lot of fun.

Blistering performances.

to a bizarre and fascinating world. a kind of fairy-tale. charming, tender, delicate. a remarkable director, a beautiful text by Madame La Fayette and nuances of acting. nothing else. it is not a great film. it is only perfectly French. it is not an event or revelation. it is slice of a time - gray, cruel, ambitious, selfish. but not the period is the axis. essence is the nice performance of Melanie Thierry, the precise definition of character potential by Lambert Wilson and, of course, Gaspar Ulliel . result - a form of delight. all usual ingredients. and little more. history, love stories in different forms and Evelina Meghnagi in a real fascinating role. good work of master Tavernier.

Plot: A French noblewoman must choose between love and duty.This is an excellent if over-long film based on an old novella by Madame de La Fayette and set in the ultra-bloody 16th century Wars of Religion. Whilst the director (Tavernier) has said that he is exploring the way in which women during this period were treated as chattel, the source material actually offers a much more interesting theme. The novella and this story is really an excellent moral fable about the need for a noblewoman to place duty above feelings; it becomes a tragedy when she chooses love (really lust) instead, thereby destroying her marriage and her mentor. What's particularly nice is how the characters confound cliché: the husband in the arranged marriage might be weak but he's also good-hearted and tries to make the marriage work; the clever mentor who falls in love with her accepts that his duty means he must suppress his emotions; the foppish prince actually proves to be the most sensible character; and the dashing lover turns out to be a cad with only one thing on his mind. The acting, costumes and photography are all excellent but at nearly two and a half hours the film is far too long. It also assumes a level of historical knowledge that not all audiences will have (if you don't know who Admiral Coligny is, get reading). Finally, whilst it starts with a corking action scene (which isn't typical), the later battle scenes are small, confusing and badly choreographed.

Some of the best things in this lusciously mounted historical ramble are the battle and fight sequences. They are exciting and convincing, as is the picture's milieu. Some of the relationships sporadically command interest,despite the central character consistently failing to provide any spark. The Duke of Anjou is the most watchable; a wonderfully slimy character, whose complicated duplicity and arrogance is highly entertaining. The actress who plays the princess may have superficially attractive qualities, but she has no personality. She's a sponge, who gives almost nothing and inspires only restlessness and tedium. Had she been at least interesting this may well have been an exciting film. After a while this viewer couldn't care less what happened to her. A shame because everything around her is designed to make for a stimulating story. It should be shorter, and it should be re-cast. The real princess was supposed to be a beauty. Mlle Thierry is quite good looking, but I suppose, at the time of going into production there wasn't an available attractive actress who is also vivacious, and/or interesting, and not too expensive. Heigh ho.

I'm a sucker for period pieces and this one delivered on all the parts that I love. Great costumes and art direction. Breathtaking scenery complete with castles set among hills ablaze in autumn colors. And oh, the fabrics!!! French is always beautiful to listen to, but this film was simply music to the ears. Gorgeous use of language. Thundering horses, clashing swords, unrequited love. Shamelessly romantic while showing how tough life was. War was miserable. No escape from the rain and cold. Women's lives sucked, even if rich. Catherine de'Medici was superb. The acting was good enough for the characters to be convincing which is what I care about. I was transported. That's what I want. Lots of films about Tudor England which is same time period, but few about Catholics and Huguenots. I'd see it again.