It's about Marie de Mézières, who is forced to marry the Prince de Montpensier, despite the fact that she is in love with Henri de Guise. Shortly after their marriage, Marie's husband goes to fight in the war between the Huguenots and the Catholics, leaving his wife with the Count of Chabannes, his former tutor.
(There's a spoiler coming up, by the way)
Marie's husband becomes jealous of the attention she gets from Henri, the Count of Chabannes, and yet another admirer, the Duc d'Anjou. She ends up sacrificing her marriage in order to be with Henri, before discovering that he has married another woman, and is not willing to sacrifice his marriage for her.
Personally, I found it very difficult to sympathise with Marie. In her situation, I would have reacted very differently, and I think this made my first impression of the film fairly negative. However, looking past that, it was a very good film.
I especially liked the contrast between the fighting scenes and the calmer scenes of Marie's home and the countryside. Obviously, the war scenes were much more bloody and violent, but in some ways there was just as much conflict in the calmer scenes, with Marie's four admirers trying to compete for her attention. In one scene, Marie's mother explains that love is an awkward thing, which I think is a main theme for this film. Marie's love for Henri de Guise is awkward as it gets in the way of her relationship with her husband, and ultimately causes her to lose both the Prince and Henri.
I can't think of much else to say on this one. If you like a good romantic tragedy, go and see this film. If you try to avoid sad films (like me), don't. If you just want to watch a film, then yes, I would recommend it. If you've seen it, please leave any comments. I realise that this review hasn't been as detailed as my others, but I think that's because I'm a bit biased on this one!
Overall, it's another
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Caitlin
No comments:
Post a Comment