Le Comte De Monte-Cristo - English subtitled
French costume drama based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas about a man who, after being wrongfully imprisoned for fourteen years, takes revenge. The film attracted more than nine million moviegoers in France.
This fast, vigorous, rousing adaptation stays true to the intricate narrative of Alexandre Dumas’ epic nineteenth-century novel, and mixes historical detail with modern cinematic techniques.
In Le Comte De Monte-Cristo an unfairly persecuted man returns (as it seems) from the dead to ingeniously plot bloody revenge, one by one, upon those who wronged him. Yet revenge rarely runs smoothly: there are always obstacles, complications and surprising reversals of fortune. The rich, mysterious Count demands eternal loyalty from his young accomplices, but events may influence them otherwise. Ultimately, Dumas asks: can another emotion, more noble and powerful, replace the lust for vengeance?
Dumas’ intricate narrative demands fine attention to what each character knows or doesn’t know at any given point, and this adaptation is up to the task. Combining a stirring orchestral score with contemporary cinematic devices (handheld and drone camerawork), Le Comte De Monte-Cristo manages to be at once classical and modern. (source: www.iffr.com)