Actor Dominic Pinon in 1989 took part in one of the most ambitious projects of the French film industry. He played the role of Jean-Baptiste Drouet, a postmaster from a small town who identified King Louis XVI, who fled under the assumed name, and gave him to the new authorities. This accident changed the course of history. The monarch ended his life on the guillotine, and the previous era irrevocably left with him. In the film, which tells about the troubled and dangerous years of the French Revolution, Dominique Pinon got a small but very significant role.
The creative path of the actor
He is considered an extraordinary representative of French cinema. The appearance of Dominic Pinon does not meet generally accepted standards. Because of his atypical face, he did not even dream of becoming an actor, but fate was supportive and gave him a chance.
Dominic Pinon was born in 1955 in the city of Saumur, located in the west of France. After studying at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Poitiers, he moved to Paris and enrolled in acting classes. Director Jean-Jacques Benex drew attention to Pinon and offered him a role in his debut film "Diva". The success of their creative union exceeded all expectations. The picture became a cult and opened a new era of French cinema. Pinon, who played the role of a gloomy killer, for a long time predetermined his career. Over the next decade, he appeared on the screen exclusively in the form of crazy and asocial personalities.
The story of the film
The ambitious project was dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. The creators sought to make the film a true and unbiased story about the events of that era. The story began with the convocation of the General States and ended with the death of Maximilian Robespierre. The picture in all respects corresponded to the importance of the anniversary. A huge budget by the standards of those years was 300 million francs. The international cast included world movie stars.
The film consists of two parts. The first was created under the direction of French director Robert Enrico, the second was worked by his American counterpart Richard Heffron. The total duration of the picture is 360 minutes, there is also a television version. France, Italy, Canada, Great Britain and Germany took part in the production of the film.
Plot
The first part of the film - “Years of the World” - tells about the events that took place during the tenure of Louis XVI . The king watches helplessly as his wife, Marie Antoinette, squanders the state treasury. He is forced to convene the General States to discuss possible ways out of the financial crisis. The situation is getting out of control, and representatives of the third estate refuse to stop the meeting until a constitution is adopted in the country. The first part of the film ends with the unsuccessful escape of Louis and Marie Antoinette. The second series, Years of Horror, describes the period of revolutionary terror and the death of the king and his wife on the guillotine.
main characters
The Italian actor Vittorio Mezzogiorno played the role of Jean-Paul Marat. The biography of one of the leaders of the revolution is set forth in the film quite reliably. According to the creators, the picture was to reflect all existing opinions about the historical figures of that difficult era. For some, he was a martyr and a fighter for the freedom of the people, for others he was a misanthropist, who called for cutting heads of opponents of the new government. Facts confirming both points of view can be found in the biography of Jean-Paul Marat. Photos of scenes from the film show the surprising external similarity of actor Vittorio Mezzogiorno and a real historical character.
Under the influence of troubled times, not only Jean-Paul Marat became a controversial person. Interesting facts from the lives of other heroes of the revolutionary era also make an ambiguous impression. The audience noted the game of the Polish actor Andrzej Severin, who embodied the image of Robespierre on the screen.
Jean-Baptiste Drouet
The story of a postmaster from a small town was continued. The revolutionary authorities praised the merit of a man who did not allow the king to escape from the court and the guillotine. The Legislative Assembly offered Jean-Baptiste Drouet a reward of 30 thousand francs, but he refused. Subsequently, the postmaster was elected to the National Convention and joined the most radical political group. It was Dominic Pinon, one of the most extraordinary and memorable actors of French cinema, who came up for the role of such an unusual personality.
The reaction of critics and viewers
The picture could not raise a lot of money at the box office. But the public found the film French Revolution historically accurate. The only mistake in the script is that on the screen, Marie Antoinette was executed by the famous executioner Charles-Henri Sanson, and in real life the death sentence to the queen was carried out by his son. The commercial failure of the picture is explained by the fact that the events of two centuries ago no longer cause the French interest.