Farewell, My Queen

The movie I have recently seen that might be of interest to all of you film-buffs is “Farewell, my Queen” by Benoît Jacquot. “Farewell, my Queen” based on the best-selling novel by Chantal Thomas is a poignant recollection of the French monarchy’s abrupt and bloodthirsty collapse. Although it does not go into the gory details of the mass executions and guillotine’s blade is not yet in the picture (although it seems they are sharpening it by then), it foreshadows and focuses on the days leading up to them. 

As the ladies-in-waiting shuffle hurriedly through the labyrinth of Versailles, the atmosphere is at once lavish and electrified with tragic heaviness of the violence to come. The pace of the film, a feature I notice more often in the French cinema recently, is somewhat languid. As the final credits were rolling and I was walking out of the theater I could not help but overhear the complaints of the pouring out audience – “slow”, “boring” and “long” were the adjectives tossed around. I do agree that the film was unhurried but would not necessarily attach any negative connotation to it. I believe that it has done more good for the atmosphere of the pre-revolution than if it was bombarded by the fast-shifting events and dynamic plotline. “Farewell, my Queen” is a wholly atmospheric film and atmospheric not in the usual picturesque but emotional way. I admired the director for walking away from the overly publicized beauty of pompous Versailles ballrooms and letting us glimpse at its true identity – that of over glorified dormitory, embellished yet still infested with a rat here and there and accurate of its timeframe. 

Providing a fresh perspective on the revolutionary undercurrents in Paris hinted on by the whispers of the ladies-in-waiting, we are finally getting the middle ground perception on the collapse of the monarchy recalled by the “healthy middle class” – neither the lavish let-them-eat-cake crowd nor the over starved and angered poor. Since the truth lies somewhere in the middle, the perspective of the valets to the king and queen is the closest we can get to understand the events leading up to storming of Bastille. And if you are still not intrigued, Diane Kruger as Marie Antoinette and Lea Seydoux as her loyal and adoring lady-in-waiting Sidonie Laborde are a treat all on their own…sensual and alluring…