THE OPINION OF THE “WORLD” – TO SEE
On the podium of literary adaptations to the cinema, between William Shakespeare in the lead and Stephen King, there is Alexandre Dumas. Long considered the most visual of all French novels, The three Musketeersserialized in the newspaper The centuryin 1844, was the subject of about fifty films, in France as in Hollywood.
On the strength of these successes, Pathé’s new version appears to be the ready-made solution to compete with the Marvel superheroes produced by Disney, while cinemas are struggling to retain their viewers. In the first opus, d’Artagnan, buried alive, literally returns from beyond the grave: the allegory of overcoming the crisis could not be clearer. A second part, Miladyshot in stride, is scheduled for December.
The great raout of light horses, at 72 million euros, owes its return to another group of friends who also have a strong heritage. In production, Dimitri Rassam, nephew of producer Claude Berri (Queen Margot, by Patrice Chéreau, 1994). In the script, with Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de La Patellière, son of director Denys (the count of Monte Cristo, miniseries, 1979). And Martin Bourboulon, director who started out with divorce comedies dad or mom 1 And 2 (2015 and 2016), before transforming, in 2021, Gustave Eiffel into a romantic figure.
Paragon of the band of friends
In their adaptation of Three Musketeers, comparable to a story of France happily told to children, with just enough secrets and adventures, we find the basics of Dumas’ plot. Charles de Batz de Castelmore, known as “d’Artagnan”, a fiery 18-year-old Gascon, arrives in Paris to pursue a career with the musketeers, the special forces in the service of the king, which include the experienced Aramis (Romain Duris), Porthos ( Pio Marmaï) and Athos (Vincent Cassel).
The overall picture evokes a mixture of Indiana Jones, western and Tour de France, dotted with castles and forests – even the Tuileries garden passes for a remote undergrowth. From the Louvre to Buckingham Palace, from the slums of Paris to the siege of La Rochelle, in a kingdom divided by the wars of religion and threatened with invasion by England, swordsmen will cross swords to fight Richelieu, the main Minister of the King, and his protege, Milady de Winter (Eva Green), who attempt to discredit the Queen of France, Anne of Austria.
The film brings the genre back to gaiety and humour, in a solidarity and joking boy-scout spirit, crossed with a sensitive virility between handsome kids from the Saint-Martin canal and the roommates of a Spanish inn… Note that the three actors François Civil, Pio Marmaï and Romain Duris have all gained notoriety with Cédric Klapisch, whose cinema is the paragon of the gang of friends who wouldn’t hurt a fly.
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