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Category:    Home > Reviews > Drama > Historic > French Revolution > Romance > Sexuality > Politics > Farewell My Queen (2012/Cohen Media Group Blu-ray)

Farewell My Queen (2012/Cohen Media Group Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B     Extras: C+     Film: B-

 

 

The Costume Drama has been in a rut for a while now offering densities of costumes and locales of the past without realistic scripts or honest approaches, so when one comes along like Benoit Jacquot’s Farewell My Queen (2012), it is always a welcome change and pleasant surprise.  Based on Chantal Thomas’s novel, it is the fall of Marie Antoinette (played well here by Diane Kruger) through the eyes and experiences of her reader Agatha-Sidonie Laborde (Léa Seydoux) who has a devotion to her that is based on false hope and not having any better alternatives in life.

 

The twist here is that the film wants to deal with, at least in passing, Antoinette’s bi-sexuality or lesbianism.  It is not the main issue of the film nor does the film imply that Antoinette is a victim of sexual discrimination in the mode of Edward II (especially the Derek Jarman film) but does not make it trivial background information.  Instead, the screenplay by Jacquot and Gilles Taurand wants to give us the larger picture of seeing inside the last days of a dynasty and what mistakes and errors lead to its downfall on a human level.  In this respect, it works very well.

 

The cast is fine all around, you constantly feel like you are part of the final days of the events that take place and the density of the locations, sets, directing and screenplay makes this all feel pretty authentic.  This is well cast and a worthy cinematic entry into the many examinations of Antoinette and France at the time, not all of which work, but this one does and it is an underrated film I hope gets the audience it deserves with this Blu-ray release.

 

Note that the cover is without a Blu-ray blue case because the case is clear plastic.

 

 

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot on an Arri Alexa HD camera, which has up to 2.5K definition and instead of the bright look of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, is closer to the realistic look of Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon (1975) except that we get some shaky camerawork and definition issues you would never get on a Kubrick film.  With that said, this is a nicely stylized shoot by Director of Photography Romain Winding that is consistent and looks fine for what it is intended to be.

 

The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is even better with nicely recorded dialogue, sound effects and music (by Bruno Coulais), though it is on the quiet side more than a few times, even ambiance sounds good and is warm.  Don’t expect big explosions, but expect consistency and you’ll get it.

 

Extras include a small, illustrated booklet on the film with cast and crew information, while the Blu-ray adds an Original Theatrical Trailer, On-Set Interviews segment and on camera director interview averaging just over 20 minutes each.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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