Farewell, My Queen (2012)
"Les adieux à la reine" (original title)

A look at the relationship between Marie Antoinette and one of her readers during the first days of the French Revolution.

Director:

Benoît Jacquot

Writers:

Benoît Jacquot (scenario), Gilles Taurand (scenario),

Stars:

Léa Seydoux, Diane Kruger, Virginie Ledoyen

5 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Léa Seydoux	...	Agathe-Sidonie Laborde
Diane Kruger	...	La reine Marie Antoinette
Virginie Ledoyen	...	La duchesse Gabrielle de Polignac
Noémie Lvovsky	...	Henriette Genest dite Madame Campan
Xavier Beauvois	...	Le roi Louis XVI
Michel Robin	...	Jacob-Nicolas Moreau - l'archiviste de Versailles
Julie-Marie Parmentier	...	La servante Honorine Aubert (as Julie-Marie Parmentier de la Comédie Française)
Lolita Chammah	...	La domestique Louison
Marthe Caufman	...	La domestique Alice
Vladimir Consigny	...	René dit Paolo
Dominique Reymond	...	Madame de Rochereuil
Anne Benoît	...	Rose Bertin
Hervé Pierre	...	L'abbé Hérissé (as Hervé Pierre Sociétaire de la Comédie Française)
Aladin Reibel	...	L'abbé Cornu de la Balivière
Jacques Nolot	...	Monsieur de Jolivet

Storyline

In July 1789, the French Revolution is rumbling. Far from the turmoil, at the Château de Versailles, King Louis XVI, Queen Marie-Antoinette and their courtiers keep on living their usual carefree lives. But when the news of the storming of the Bastille reaches them, panic sets in and most of the aristocrats and their servants desert the sinking ship, leaving the Royal Family practically alone. Which is not the case of Sidonie Laborde, the Queen's reader, a young woman, entirely devoted to her mistress; she will not give her up under any circumstances. What Sidonie does not know yet is that these are the last three days she will spend in the company of her beloved Queen...

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Plot Keywords:

revolution | marie antoinette | french revolution | reader | servant | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brief graphic nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook [fr] Official Facebook [us]

Country:

France Spain

Language:

French English German Italian

Release Date:

21 March 2012 (France)

Also Known As:

Farewell, My Queen

Filming Locations:

Chateau de Versailles, Versailles, Yvelines, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$72,100 (USA) (13 July 2012)

Gross:

$72,100 (USA) (13 July 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

GMT Productions, Les Films du Lendemain, France 3 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Diane Kruger's mother and Marie Antoinette's mother share the same name: Marie Therese.

User Reviews

Versailles days

I must admit, when I went to see this film I thought: Not another picture about the revolution in France, I must have seen 20 already. I was pleased to find however that Benoit Jacquot has given the period a lot of thought, and has made one of the more effective costume films in recent years. His Sade of 2000 starred Daniel Auteuil and Isild le Besco, treating one of the lesser figures of the period with great insight into his character. Les adieux a la reine is no less engrossing; he takes us into the cramped corridors of the palace, where the small people live in dingy quarters and hope (usually fruitlessly) to be noticed by the royal couple. The night scene with the courtiers fearfully scanning the list of 286 notables who must have their heads chopped off, lit with a brackish yellow candle light is wonderfully effective.

The performances make the film. Diane Kruger, with her slight accent, makes a wonderful Marie Antoinette: sensing doom, yet still able to reach out to those around her. It's easy to see why Sidonie reveres her. Lea Seydoux, whom I hadn't noticed much up to now, shows much promise as an actress, scurrying around the palace trying to gather information about the riots in Paris. Her face is sometimes sullen, sometimes smiling, always interesting. Xavier Beauvois does well as the King. Finally Virginie Ledoyen as Yolande de Polignac--"the indisputably ravishing but dim-witted Yolande" as Simon Schama calls her. Ledoyen is as imperious and shallow as you could wish. You see how the Queen could lose her head (in both senses) over her.