By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Benoît Jacquot
Starring: Diane Kruger | Léa Seydoux | Michel Robin | Noémie Lvovsky | Virginie Ledoyen | Xavier Beauvais
Country: france, spain
Year: 2012
Running time: 100
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1753813/
Bruce says: “Based on the novel by Chantal Thomas, director Benoît Jacquot gives the final days of Marie Antoinette (Diane Kruger) and the Court of Louis XVI the upstairs/downstairs treatment. Events are seen and heard through the eyes and ears of Sidonie Laborde (Léa Seydoux), the Queen’s reader. Most history buffs already know the basic facts about ill-fated Marie, the Austrian princess who captivated the French only to have them turn against her. What FAREWELL, MY QUEEN brings to the table is the mood of the palace residents and staff during the four days starting July 14, 1789 when Bastille was sieged. We are let in on the gossip, the petty likes and dislikes, the paranoia, the intrigues, the backstabbing, the thievery, and the fierce loyalty that some of the staff held steadfast.
“Sidonie is hard to figure out. She is educated but will not speak of her background. She is talented but will not take credit for her handiwork. The Queen favours her, most likely in part because she does not fuss or fawn, but she takes no advantage of the Queen’s admiration. She is one of the fiercely loyal servants. Marie Antoinette is erratic if not positively irrational. She bores easily and changes her mind rapidly. She spend most of her time away from the King at the Petit Trianon, a small chateau on the grounds where she passes time with Gabrielle, Duchesse de Polignac, the governess of her children who is also the object of her affection. The Queen confides her affections to Sidonie during one of their nightly reading sessions.
“Because of her status, Sidonie is given access to the Queen’s library where the aged M. Moreau presides. He is a mentor of sorts. Sidonie has several other friends among the staff at the palace. One of the servant girls is having an affair with Gustav, a member of the Swiss Guard. Another servant girl, does needlework with Sidonie to help pass the time. The women who serve the Queen at the Petit Trianon resent Sidonie and the rapport she has with the Queen, a rapport clearly out of their reach. In spite of her loyalty Sidonie is much her own woman and she handles herself with resourcefulness and aplomb when her loyalty is put to a supreme test.
“Rumors begin to spread like wildfire the day after the Bastille is taken. The list of 286 to be beheaded is smuggled into the palace. At the top is Marie Antoinette. The palace is in chaos and Jacquot does a superb job in depicting the confusion as the camera follows Sidonie from one area to the next. Over the next days, as the drama unfolds, we come to understand the situation, not as mere historic fact, but as a morass of personal crises.
“The film owes much of its success to a lovely, intelligent performance by Léa Seydoux. Also quite wonderful are the many character actors in roles of those who comprise the Court or serve it. Versailles is only open to film crews during non-visiting hours – Mondays and evenings – making it difficult to meet schedules and deadlines. All the important and necessary establishing shots and crucial scenes were filmed at Versailles: the Hall of Mirrors, the Petit Trianon, the stone-paved courtyard, the magnificent gold gates and the grand lake beyond the formal palace gardens. Interior shots of the Queen’s Apartments and the servants’ quarters were filmed at other chateaux throughout France. 4.5 cats”