L'autre Dumas (2010)

Nobody knows Auguste Maquet, and yet everybody knows "The Three Musketeers", Everybody knows Alexandre Dumas who wrote the swashbuckling masterpiece but who knows that Maquet is his ... See full summary »

Director:

Safy Nebbou

Writers:

Cyril Gely (play), Safy Nebbou (screenplay)

Stars:

Gérard Depardieu, Benoît Poelvoorde, Dominique Blanc

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gérard Depardieu	...	Alexandre Dumas
Benoît Poelvoorde	...	Auguste Maquet
Dominique Blanc	...	Céleste Scriwaneck
Mélanie Thierry	...	Charlotte Desrives
Catherine Mouchet	...	Caroline Maquet
Jean-Christophe Bouvet	...	M. Bocquin
Philippe Magnan	...	François Guizot, le président du conseil
Florence Pernel	...	Ida Ferrier Dumas
Michel Duchaussoy	...	Sous-préfet Crémieux
Roger Dumas	...	M. de Saint Omer
Ophélia Kolb	...	Marion
Christian Abart	...	L'inspecteur Flanchet
Alexis Michalik	...	Jean-Baptiste Béraud
Daniel Isoppo	...	Rasconi, le majordome de Dumas
Pierre Soubestre	...	Monsieur Michel, le jardinier

Storyline

Nobody knows Auguste Maquet, and yet everybody knows "The Three Musketeers", Everybody knows Alexandre Dumas who wrote the swashbuckling masterpiece but who knows that Maquet is his co-writer? Nobody does, as his name does not appear on the cover. At least not Charlotte Desrives, the lovely daughter of a doctor stagnating in prison for his political opinions. When the lively girl mistakes the shy Maquet for the fiery ex-revolutionary Dumas, begging him to help her to have her father released, the former makes few efforts to put her right. She is so admiring of "him" ... She is so pretty ...

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | full frontal female nudity | sex scene | interrupted sex | 1840s | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

UGC Distribution [France]

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

10 February 2010 (France)

Also Known As:

Dumas

Filming Locations:

Fort de Cormeilles, 1 route stratégique, Cormeilles-en-Parisis, Val d'Oise, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Oblige, Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC), K2

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Sganarolle' and 'Harpagon' are characters in plays by 'Moliere'.

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Soundtracks

L'Oiseau libre
Written and performed by Fawzy Al-Aiedy

User Reviews

Depardieu shines as Dumas

Firstly, I saw this with English subtitles on the satellite French movie channel, Cinemoi.

I'm no reader of literature, let alone French, but I enjoy my movies and this one is a good period romp, with a robust and typically fruity performance by Gerard Depardieu as the womanising and gluttonous Alexandre Dumas. His counterpart, the 'other',is the bookish, bespectacled and rather shy Benoit Poelvoorde, as Auguste Macquet.

The film aims to redress literary history by stating that Dumas had a ghost writer, or 'help', in creating his masterpieces, such as The Three Musketeers. Apparently, this writer was indeed Macquet who was more a collaborator; the two bouncing ideas off each other. The story here, which apparently found no favours with the critics is rightly popularist, possibly stretched in its accuracy but always entertaining.

The period detail is fine, as is the pace but it does also have its more serious side, charting stormy waters between the pair over women, writing contracts and events leading up to the French Revolution.

There's some quite strong brief nudity and mild swearing and a little violence, which would suggest a cert 15. It's 105mins long and ably, if unremarkably directed by Safy Nebbou.

With Depardieu at the helm, it is surprising that 'Dumas' isn't more well known and released over here in the U.K., as a 'normal' DVD.