Fourth of July
Fourth sound film by René Clair (A Straw Hat from Italy, The Great Maneuvers), Fourteen of July made in 1933 narrates the thwarted romance of Anna (Annabella), a young florist and Jean (Jorge Rigaud), a taxi driver who dumps her for a one-night stand. One of the first talking cinema romcoms (despite dialogues still not very fleshed out) which opens a romantic and popular parenthesis during the traditional July 14 ball.
• July 14, available on DVD from LCJ, in Blu-Ray combo /DVD at Tamasa or on UniverCiné
The French Revolution: the Light Years and the Terrible Years Monumental historical fresco respectively produced by Robert Enrico and Richard T. Heffron on the occasion of the bicentenary (1989), The French Revolution is a commissioned film with remarkable documentary qualities .Spearheaded by a prestigious cast (François Cluzet, Jane Symour, Christopher Lee, Michel Galabru, etc.), the film, co-produced by France, Italy, Canada and Germany, benefited from a considerable budget ( 58 million euros) and required six months of filming, fifteen thousand costumes and an incredible number of actors and extras. Despite a resounding commercial failure, the diptych still impresses, particularly with the spectacular sequence of the storming of the Bastille.
• The French Revolution, available on DVD from TF1
Marie-Antoinette Before the revolutionary storm, the boring Court of Louis XVI becomes a party with the arrival of a young Austrian woman with a rebellious spirit. Unloved wife but sassy lover, frivolous queen, addicted and unconventional clothes, Marie-Antoinette (played by Kisten Dunst) by Sofia Coppola (2006) shakes up the codes of royalty and only perceives History through a prism macaron pink, fun and girly. An offbeat and assumed bias, deliciously rock 'n' roll. Not to be confused with Marie-Antoinette by Jean Delannoy (1956) available on Blu-Ray from Gaumont.
• Marie-Antoinette, available on Blu-Ray from Pathé, on Prime Video or UniverCiné
Farewell to the Queen Palace of Versailles, 1789. Sidonie Laborde (Léa Seydoux), appointed reader of Queen Marie-Antoinette (Diane Kruger) dreams of recognition. In Paris, anger is brewing and the outraged people are preparing the revolution. It does not take long for the balance of the Court to waver.
Adapted from the eponymous novel by Chantal Thomas, Farewell to the Queen by Benoît Jacquot (2012) narrates the unconditional devotion of a young orphan to her sovereign. Behind the illustration of the last hours of the Monarchy, lies a relentless reflection around the power of the privileged over the weakest.
• Farewell to the Queen, available on Blu-Ray from Ad Vitam, on Prime Video , Canal VOD, AppleTV+ or UniverCiné
The girl on July 14 National holiday at the Louvre Museum. When he meets Truquette (Vimala Pons), Hector (Grégoire Tachnakian) undertakes a seduction operation that looks like a road movie. With his inseparable friends, he begins an incredible summer journey across a France split in two. Antonin Peretjako's first feature film, The Girl of July 14 aims to distill the springs of burlesque into the completely crazy trip of the Hector gang. Halfway between the offbeat foutraque of Quentin Dupieux and the unclassifiable works of Godard or Jacques Rozier, this unique comedy stands out in the post-electoral landscape of 2012.
• The Girl of July 14, available on DVD from Shellac or on MUBI
