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Credits
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Summary
Having fled his native France after killing an aristocrat,
Nicolas Philibert arrives in the United States and soon makes his fortune
as a crop merchant. His marriage to the daughter of a wealthy man
is frustrated when it is revealed that he is already married, to a woman
still living in France. The only solution is for Nicolas to return
to France to divorce his wife. He arrives in France shortly after
the French Revolution only to find that his wife, Charlotte has allied
herself with a party of loyalists who intend to dispose of the newly formed
republic...Review
Les Mariés de l'an II is typical of the
ebullient and witty period drama which French cinema has been consistently
good at producing for many decades. As would be expected from Jean-Paul
Rappeneau, the director of the 1990s hit Cyrano de Bergerac, this
is an intelligent, good humoured romp which capitalises on its historical
setting to great effect. The film was a popular success when it was
first released in France.
For budgetary reasons, the film was filmed on location in Rumania (at the time of the Cold War) instead of France (where the bulk of the film was set), although this does not compromise its authenticity as a respectable quality period drama. Whilst the script is no where near as impressive as Cyrano de Bergerac, the film shines in many other areas, most notably in its attention to period detail. The sets and costumes evoke every schoolboy’s memory of France of the 1790s, whilst the numerous action sequences, including some impressive fight scenes and some spectacular stunts, are expertly choreographed. The film also benefits from a very strong cast, including the magnificent Jean-Paul Belmondo (who was badly injured when making some of the amazing stunts he did for this film), the delightful Marlène Jobert, and the resourceful Sami Frey. Another great luminary in the form of Pierre Brasseur plays a major part in the film, and the observant will notice a young Patrick Dewaere in a fleeting appearance. © James Travers 2001 |
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