LOST ILLUSIONS
*****
Director: Xavier Giannoli
Screenplay: Xavier Giannoli. Adaptation and dialogue by Giannoli and Jacques Fieschi, based on the novel Illusions perdues by Honoré de Balzac.
Principal cast:
Benjamin Voisin
Cécile de France
Vincent Lacoste
Xavier Dolan
Gérard Depardieu
Jeanne Balibar
Country: France/Belgium
Classification: M
Runtime: 149 mins.
Australian release date: 23 June 2022.
Xavier Giannoli’s Lost Illusions is a lavish adaption of Honoré de Balzac’s classic novel Illusions perdues. Set in 1821, it covers the rise and fall of a young, poor but fiercely ambitious poet, Lucien Chardon, superbly played by Benjamin Voison. Having no success in his provincial home town, Lucien enthusiastically, if somewhat naïvely, follows a prominent figure of Angoulême society, his married mistress Louise de Bargeton (Cécile de France), to Paris. However, the liaison does not last long once he gets caught up in the corruption and venality of French bourgeois society.
De Balzac’s 1843 book, of which Giannoli has kept the bitter, satirical heart despite condensing some of the characters, is extraordinarily modern. If the director had decided to set it in modern-day Paris, London or New York, nothing that happens would look out of place. Yes, it’s a tale of how youthful ideals are often corrupted when confronted by the real world but, more than that, it’s an examination of how the media can be used for personal power and political gain. As we know only too well, press barons are often ready to lose money if it means they can influence politicians to do their bidding - it’s easy to think of contemporary examples, n’est-ce pas? When Lucien finds it difficult to break into the world of arts and letters in the big smoke, he is advised by a new friend, Étienne Lousteau (Vincent Lacoste), to take up journalism, telling him that his job “is to enrich the shareholders of the journal” he works for. Lucien’s illusions are shattered but soon he is writing scathing articles that become the toast of Paris but he is about to learn the tragic lesson about playing with fire.
Lost Illusions won seven César Awards earlier this year, in categories that included Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Supporting Actor (Lacoste), and Most Promising Actor (Voisin) and it’s easy to see why the judges thought so highly of it. The film looks stunning - its production and artistic design and costumes are simply ravishing. Giannoli has recreated 19th century Paris in magnificent style. It was a time when the city was kicking up its heels: the director explains, “After the blood of the Revolution and the wars of the Empire, French society aspires to a form of appeasement. We want to enjoy, have fun... Louis XVIII is in power and he is looking for compromises. The aristocracy has restored the values of the monarchy, but the new bourgeois society aspires to social, political and above all economic conquests.” He continues. “But in Paris it is not about just being there, but who you are there. The Parisian aristocracy of money was also turned in on itself, jealous of its privileges. To find its place, it will therefore be necessary to accept the new “rules” imposed by the obsession with profit, even if it means renouncing its values.” And, as his film shows, they relinquished their values with abandon.
Lost Illusions is one of the best films of the year. It’s not only sumptuous and features an excellent cast, including Gérard Depardieu, it has something very pertinent to say and it does so in a thoroughly entertaining way. Don’t miss it.
Screenplay: Xavier Giannoli. Adaptation and dialogue by Giannoli and Jacques Fieschi, based on the novel Illusions perdues by Honoré de Balzac.
Principal cast:
Benjamin Voisin
Cécile de France
Vincent Lacoste
Xavier Dolan
Gérard Depardieu
Jeanne Balibar
Country: France/Belgium
Classification: M
Runtime: 149 mins.
Australian release date: 23 June 2022.
Xavier Giannoli’s Lost Illusions is a lavish adaption of Honoré de Balzac’s classic novel Illusions perdues. Set in 1821, it covers the rise and fall of a young, poor but fiercely ambitious poet, Lucien Chardon, superbly played by Benjamin Voison. Having no success in his provincial home town, Lucien enthusiastically, if somewhat naïvely, follows a prominent figure of Angoulême society, his married mistress Louise de Bargeton (Cécile de France), to Paris. However, the liaison does not last long once he gets caught up in the corruption and venality of French bourgeois society.
De Balzac’s 1843 book, of which Giannoli has kept the bitter, satirical heart despite condensing some of the characters, is extraordinarily modern. If the director had decided to set it in modern-day Paris, London or New York, nothing that happens would look out of place. Yes, it’s a tale of how youthful ideals are often corrupted when confronted by the real world but, more than that, it’s an examination of how the media can be used for personal power and political gain. As we know only too well, press barons are often ready to lose money if it means they can influence politicians to do their bidding - it’s easy to think of contemporary examples, n’est-ce pas? When Lucien finds it difficult to break into the world of arts and letters in the big smoke, he is advised by a new friend, Étienne Lousteau (Vincent Lacoste), to take up journalism, telling him that his job “is to enrich the shareholders of the journal” he works for. Lucien’s illusions are shattered but soon he is writing scathing articles that become the toast of Paris but he is about to learn the tragic lesson about playing with fire.
Lost Illusions won seven César Awards earlier this year, in categories that included Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Supporting Actor (Lacoste), and Most Promising Actor (Voisin) and it’s easy to see why the judges thought so highly of it. The film looks stunning - its production and artistic design and costumes are simply ravishing. Giannoli has recreated 19th century Paris in magnificent style. It was a time when the city was kicking up its heels: the director explains, “After the blood of the Revolution and the wars of the Empire, French society aspires to a form of appeasement. We want to enjoy, have fun... Louis XVIII is in power and he is looking for compromises. The aristocracy has restored the values of the monarchy, but the new bourgeois society aspires to social, political and above all economic conquests.” He continues. “But in Paris it is not about just being there, but who you are there. The Parisian aristocracy of money was also turned in on itself, jealous of its privileges. To find its place, it will therefore be necessary to accept the new “rules” imposed by the obsession with profit, even if it means renouncing its values.” And, as his film shows, they relinquished their values with abandon.
Lost Illusions is one of the best films of the year. It’s not only sumptuous and features an excellent cast, including Gérard Depardieu, it has something very pertinent to say and it does so in a thoroughly entertaining way. Don’t miss it.