The Swashbuckler

Pleasant harmless adventures in costume during the French Revolution (L'an II is 1793).The first half is my favorite ,for it features Italian beauty Laura Antonelli whose photo romances I had read a few years before.There's also a very good score by Michel Legrand (who else?) and a splendid cinematography by Claude Renoir.The story is pleasant : a raider (Belmondo) comes to back from Canada to find that his wife (Marlene Jobert) is wooed by two nobles."Divorce" was a new word in the French vocabulary.Patrick Dewaere,who was about to become one of the most popular actors of the French seventies ,appears as a conscript.

Jean-Paul Belmondo and Marlène Jobert star as a very memorable loving couple: In the beginning, we see them as children running through a snow-covered wood, teasing each other. Many years later, when husband Belmondo comes back from America to divorce his wife Jobert, they still act like children, who show their mutual affection by fighting, teasing and slapping each other. The relationship of our protagonists is mirrored by the incestuous and equally ardent love between a nobleman and his sister (played by the beautiful Laura Antonelli).

Belmondo, certainly not a great actor, is perfect in this film, because he plays not a "hero", but someone who often can't act but simply has to react, with a blank and uncomprehending face, to the strange events that take place around him (for example, there is one scene in court where he is sentenced to death within minutes). I have seen this film many times and am still amazed by the sheer pace of it. The script is brilliant and one of its most beautiful features is the triptych-like structure (curiously, about at the same time Stanley Kubrick made his own triptych masterpiece "A Clockwork Orange"): First the prologue, then the first part leading to the centerpiece and climax of the film, then the third part being a mirror image of the first, dissolving with a stylish transition to the short and sweet epilogue, that in itself is a mirror image of the prologue: Although many years have passed, nothing has really changed. "Les Mariés de l'an II" is a poetic film about an endless childhood.

This film is a beautiful epic which takes places during the times of the French Revolution.

As Alexandre Dumas and his colleagues as A. De Leuven, Auguste Maquet,… , Jean Paul Rappeneau based his story perfectly on the historical facts of this very troubled time. Through the adventures of Nicolas Philibert, the film illustrates and makes us easily understand the ins and outs, ideologies, claims and the affinities of the protagonists of this historical period.

A wind of freedom blows with the revolution and the adventurous Nicolas Philibert go quickly in the gaps of history to make the best for his incredible destiny irrevocably and irresistibly tied to her best friend from childhood, his wife Charlotte.

Great adventures in the tone of comedy, particularly accentuated by the strong and turbulent relationship between Nicolas and Charlotte which is light and adventurous and well embodied on the screen by the couple and Jean Paul Belmondo Marlene Jobert. The distribution of this film is noteworthy in view of the many talented and famous actors present: Charles Denner, Patrick Dewaere, Pierre Brasseur, George Beller, Sami Frey, Julien Guiomar, Paul Crauchet, Guibet Henry, Jacques Legras, Jean Pierre Marielle, Sim, Michel Auclair, Maurice Barrier, Laura Antonelli ... A French cast worthy of the greatest productions.

Indeed, it is a great production, as evidenced by a lot of action scenes; by, most of the time, authentic natural sets, by a lot of great period costumes for the large number of extras. The final battle is a perfect illustration of the means of production. This battle may also seem too widely developed on the screen relative to its own importance in the history of the characters, but it allows us to immerse well, to better accommodate with the clever, strong, short and very nice epilogue. She also serves as a spectacular finale to the film that may have some lengths and appears to be longer than it actually is. Lengths are very easily digested when the whole scenario took place on the screen.

Adventure, Comedy, technical talents and a special mention for the intelligent use of history make this film "les mariés de l'an deux" a very good film.

jelios

jelios@hotmail.fr

Enjoyable fast-moving comic and romantic drama set in the USA and France during the eventful year of 1793. Central to it is the stormy relationship between Nicolas Phillibert (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and his childhood sweetheart Charlotte (Marlène Jobert), daughter of a wine merchant in the port of Nantes. The ups and downs of their rocky marriage and of their temptation by others are played out against the much greater dramas engulfing France.

We see the Reign of Terror raging, with kangaroo courts, drowned corpses in the river and royalists carted off to the guillotine. We also see the royalist counter-revolutionaries at war against the new régime in the Vendée. Finally we see the Soldiers of Year II, the mass levy raised to fight the Austrian invaders. Much of the film was shot in the unspoiled Romanian countryside, using thousands of soldiers with authentic weapons and kit.

As a re-creation of a complex historical time as well as a humorous exploration of a quirky couple's on and off relationship, the film is constantly exciting. Belmondo gives us his usual action man, indulging in continual fights, chases and dramatic escapes while exuding manly charm. Jobert shines as his spirited wife, switching from combative to coquettish in less than an instant but collapsing in a swoon if caught out. Smaller roles are well fleshed out, so we continually meet interesting and original characters, while the score by Michel Legrand adds an often ironic period flavour. Recommended!

Jean-Paul Rappeneau's second feature is not as funny and involving as his first, La vie de château. The French Revolution is the background for love and sword fights, with a veritable Pleiade of French stars: Belmondo, Jobert, Laura Antonelli, Pierre Brasseur, Sami Frey, Michel Auclair (who handles his role very well indeed). There is an amusing subplot involving the Royalist faction that shows the talents of Frey and Antonelli as brother and sister; they are plotting to restore the Prince to the throne, if only they can get their tangled emotions in order.

It's a lovely production: cinematography excellent, set design wonderful (Alexander Trauner), actors very enthusiastic, yet it seems to go on a bit longer than its ninety minutes.