Mistral's Daughter (1984– )

Beautiful and naïve Maggy Lunel arrives in Paris completely broke. She becomes an artist's model and the toast of Paris, attracting the attention of Picasso-like painter Julien Mistral, an ... See full summary »

Stars:

Stefanie Powers, Lee Remick, Stacy Keach

Cast

Series cast summary:
Stefanie Powers	...	Maggy Lunel (4 episodes, 1984)
Lee Remick	...	Kate Browning (4 episodes, 1984)
Stacy Keach	...	Julien Mistral (4 episodes, 1984)
Ian Richardson	...	Adrien Avigdor (4 episodes, 1984)
Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu	...	Fauve (4 episodes, 1984)
Robert Urich	...	Jason Darcy (3 episodes, 1984)
Timothy Dalton	...	Perry Kilkullen (3 episodes, 1984)
Stéphane Audran	...	Paula Deslandes (3 episodes, 1984)
Stephanie Dunnam	...	Teddy Lunel (3 episodes, 1984)
Cotter Smith	...	Frank (3 episodes, 1984)
Pierre Malet	...	Eric Avigdor (3 episodes, 1984)
Alexandra Stewart	...	Mary Jane Kilkullen (3 episodes, 1984)
Joanna Lumley	...	Lally Longbridge (3 episodes, 1984)

Storyline

Beautiful and naïve Maggy Lunel arrives in Paris completely broke. She becomes an artist's model and the toast of Paris, attracting the attention of Picasso-like painter Julien Mistral, an arrogant and selfish man who places his work above everything. Their paths diverge as Mistral's art catches the eye of a rich American woman who becomes his patroness and eventually his wife. During the war years in France, Mistral collaborates with the Nazis in order to continue with his work, a decision that will come back to haunt him years later. In the meantime, Maggy has a daughter named Teddy who grows up and falls in love with Mistral with whom she has a child named Fauve. As Mistral ages, he comes to terms with his selfish past and wartime betrayal through his art, leaving a beautiful legacy for his daughter, Fauve.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | artist's model | painter | artist | model | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

L'amour en héritage

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mistral's Daughter Productions, Steve Krantz Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

390 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Nadine visits her lawyer a reflection of the boom mic can clearly be seen in a picture as she enters his office.

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Soundtracks

"Aber die Liebe bleibt"
(Theme, German dubbed version)
Performed by Nana Mouskouri

User Reviews

big, lush miniseries

This is another of those big, lush '80s miniseries, better known as trash wallows. What fun they were - expensive, scenic, opulent. Mistral's Daughter is based on a novel by Judith Kranz, concerning three generations of women in the same family involved with a great artist, portrayed by Stacy Keach. Stefanie Powers plays Maggy, the matriarch of the family, who, as a young woman, meets Mistral and becomes involved with him. Later on, her daughter meets him, falls in love with him and bears him a child.

Mistral is a real jerk, a Nazi collaborator who turns escaping Jews away at his gates and even turns in a few to get paint supplies. The kind of total narcissist codependents fall in love with. When his illegitimate daughter finds out about this years later, Mistral has to come to grips with his own selfish, self-absorbed life.

For a good actor, Stacy Keach isn't very good in this - everyone suffers from rotten accents. Stefanie Powers is always good but playing a 17-year-old when she was over 40 may not have been the best move, although she certainly is very beautiful.

All in all, this is a very entertaining miniseries. Just don't take it too seriously and enjoy it for what it is - an '80s artifact.