If the last days of Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette have already been the subject of films, sometimes lost in those devoted more generally to the French Revolution, The Flood goes off the beaten track with the quiet approach of Gianluca Jodice who follows the royal couple from their transfer to the Temple Tower until their executions.
Very close to his protagonists, the screenwriter-director never leaves them, bringing a unique treatment to the subject, on screens Wednesday December 25.
In 1792, after the revolution broke out three years earlier, Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette were extradited from Versailles to be locked up with their two children in the Temple Tower in Paris. The place is cold and deserted and the monarchs are under close surveillance by the revolutionaries. Louis XVI is deluded about his fate, while his wife fears the worst.
The minimalist production and staging, while remaining faithful to a beautiful historical reconstruction, benefits a very sensitive film where we feel all the interest shown by Gianluca Jodice in his subject. Its casting, with Guillaume Canet as Louis XVI and Mélanie Laurent as Marie-Antoinette, is very appropriate. Based on the testimony of the king's valet, Jean-Baptiste Cant Hanet, known as Cléry, the story and the psychology of the characters are very sensitive.
Gianluca Jodice takes Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette to heart without ostensibly victimizing them, but by being as close as possible to them in moments relating more to couple and family relationships than in their historical dimension. This intimacy gives a new dimension to the treatment of two historical characters, shown many times on screen.
Very beautiful visually, the film exudes a certain coldness, which also suits its subject, without losing emotion. And Gianluca Jodice manages to insinuate a growing tension, with the growing presence of revolutionaries on the lookout for these “curious beasts” who are Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. An observer more than a moralist, Gianluca Jodice produces a subtle film on his subject, historical and tragic, right down to the uncompromisingly filmed execution of the monarchs. The film is not condescending or judgmental.
Genre : Historical drama
Director : Gianluca Jodice
Actors: Guillaume Canet, Mélanie Laurent, Aurore Broutin, Vidal Arzoni, Hugo Dillon, Tom Hudson, Roxane Duran, Fabrizio Rongione
Pays :France / Italy
Duration : 1h41
Sortie : 25 December 2024
Distributer : Memento Distribution
Synopsis : 1792, The Ancien Régime comes to an end. In Paris, Louis XVI and his wife Marie-Antoinette were arrested and taken to the dungeon of the Tour du Temple. Freely inspired by the notebooks of Cléry, the King's valet who remained with him until his death.
