La Princesse de Montpensier by Bertrand Tavernier

Complex love affairs make the best stories. In a perfect world, love would still be Achilles’ heel and the Pandora’s Box of jealousy, perfidy, hate and, in the end, war. As every storyteller knows, a good story bursts out from conflicts. This is precisely what happens when four men, bound by honour and hierarchy, fall in love with the same woman.

These four strong characters gravitate around Marie de Mézière, a young girl thrown into a shotgun marriage and a courtly education. The destiny of these men is interwoven throughout the film, portraying the different faces of the lover: the jealous one, the passionate one, the mentor and the joker, all unified in the same dance of passion.

La Princesse de Montpensier is obvious and yet subtle: Bertrand Tavernier has his own distinct touch. A smooth, floating camera which caresses even the battle scenes (light years from the furious cuts which are television’s legacy), and sets a naïve and light-hearted tone. Surprising at first sight, it finally creates the necessary distance for us to appreciate the contrast between Marie’s intrigues and the butchery of the wars of religion, towards which the four men have diverging standpoints.

The world of the XVI century is poisoned by strict habits, avarice and laws of appearances. Yet Tarvernier succeeds in creating the impression that beneath the surface emotions are running wild. The link with the present is clear: restraints of any kind won’t ever stop feelings.

By Romain Pichon-Sintes