kaaber-2 Scola's Nuit de Varennes is a wonderfully composed and compact ... well, drama might be a misleading description, unless it's drama of ideologies. The concept itself is nothing short of brilliant: in 1791, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette attempt to flee France and the revolution. They get to the the small town of Varennes, just a few miles shy of the border, where they are arrested and led back to Paris, later to be guillotined. However, we are not in the royal getaway coach, but in the periphery of the historical drama; in the coach following the doomed royals is a strange melange of ideologies, a motley and cosmopolitan crew of aspects of the world that is about to disappear and that which is soon to come. The new ideology is represented by Thomas Paine (Harvey Keitel) and writer Restif (Jean-Louis Barrault), the ancien regime by Countess de la Borde (Hanna Schygulla), carrying with her Louis XVI's royal parade robe. Marcello Mastroianni portrays an eclipsed and impotent Casanova and Daniel Gelin is De Wende, an unscrupulous entrepreneur who is sure to survive both the revolution and the ensuing Napoleonic wars with his fortune intact.The very idea of letting the soul of a historical period be represented by characters that, put together, cover all aspects of the matter, is reminiscent of Blixen's (or Isak Dinesen's) tales, such as "The Deluge of Norderney", "The Dreamers" or "The Heroine". It's expertly done in this beautifully executed film. The scenery, the dialogue and the acting are all masterly. The story loyally refuses to play favorites. The revolution is justified by the sufferings of the people of France, but the children of the revolution - partly represented by a young, hateful and self-righteous student who insults Casanova - have no sense of the noblesse and chivalry they destroy. We clearly sense how the revolution will readily lapse into the mindless brutality of the reign of terror that was shortly to follow. The sympathy that arises across the revolutionary gulf between the royalist Baroness and the modern Thomas Paine is among the most touching things in the film which culminates in Varennes after the collapse of royal power with Schygulla's Baroness kneeling before the royal robes on a dress maker's dummy.

JasparLamarCrabb A really meaningful film from Ettore Scola. Scola captures France during the nearly surreal last moments of the reign of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. A group of disparate travelers take a coach through the French countryside (all for different reasons) and all come to various ends by nightfall. Jean-Louis Barrault is Nicolas-Edme Rétif de la Bretonne, the writer whose work consisted mainly of his sexual escapades. Hannah Schygulla is one of the Queen's ladies in waiting. Marcello Mastrioanni is a sad and decaying Chevalier de Seingalt (aka Casanova). It's a great movie full of insights into life, change, fear and loneliness. Barrault is excellent and Schygulla, looking absolutely ravishing, gives what has to be her best non-Fassbinder performance. The great, and ironically cast, Mastrioanni is brilliant. He's really sad, particularly when hiding out in a bathroom stall trying to pull himself together with lipstick & powder. Scola's direction is perfect and while the film could have become a boring talk-fest, it's never dull. Also featuring Harvey Keitel as the American Thomas Paine, Laura Betti as a foolish opera singer and, in a cameo, Jean-Louis Trintignant. The breathtaking cinematography is by Armando Nannuzzi.

Asa_Nisi_Masa2 Besides boasting wonderful performances by two of my favourite actors (Marcello Mastroianni and Harvey Keitel), Il Mondo Nuovo (as it's known in Italy) by acclaimed Italian director Ettore Scola is to me as satisfying as a good classic novel, one of those 800-page tomes you approach with a little trepidation and then remember for years to come, wishing other novels you read would compare. It's the year 1791 and on board a stagecoach, an assortment of characters from different parts of the world are traveling from Paris to Verdun. Along the way the coach picks up the aging (his character is 67 years old in the film), legendary Venetian seducer Giacomo Casanova, as well as the controversial, fawn-like but ahead-of-his-time chronicler and novelist, Restif de la Bretonne. The stagecoach's original travelers include the American Revolution survivor Thomas Paine (Keitel), as well as a melancholic and reserved widow aching to fall in love again, a beautiful and intelligent yet devoutly Monarchist Austrian Countess, a sharp and cheeky Italian opera singer eternally clutching a pet poodle and poking fun at her dim and bigoted husband, as well as a cocky young Jacobean. The coach also includes their servants, among whom the young Countess's devoted butler and her pretty African maid, who soon hooks up with the young Jacobean. Not far ahead of them, another stagecoach carrying the fleeing French royal family - Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and their children is also traveling along the same road, unaware this will be the route to their irrevocable death sentence. The story is told through the dialogues and anecdotes of a group unaware of their status as main witnesses to what will turn out to be one of history's most pivotal moments. Besides the breathtakingly authentic feel of the time - you really feel like you've stepped into a Hogarth painting - what's most remarkable is how you also get the sense such historic events are happening in real time, so convincing are the reactions of bewilderment and astonishment on the character's part. A series of vignettes, made delicious by the top-class characterisation and dialogue, contribute to moving the plot along as well as giving the viewer some light relief which however never loses sight of the breathless atmosphere of those revolutionary times. Mastroianni as the self-deprecating, tired, aging Casanova is a treat from the very first frame he graces to the last. This legendary actor has always brought a unique depth of humanity to his roles, but despite all the other fine actors and characters in this film I just couldn't have imagined it without him. I adored the moment, after having charmed all the ladies and even some of the men on the stagecoach, Casanova kisses the young Austrian Countess's besotted gay butler on the lips and as a parting shot says: "I don't exclude anything on principle." Especially memorable are the final frames of the film, in which the young Austrian Countess and her butler, after having dressed a wooden dummy in a spartan inn room with the doomed king's ceremonial costume, bow down to it with devotion, symbolising the ephemeral and temporal nature of an earthly kingdom. Some will consider this Italo-French production overlong, others won't be fond of its un-Hollywoodlike approach to the historic genre, others will even consider some of its characters unappealing. On my part I consider these the film's strengths and cannot help but warmly recommending it. My only real complaint is: why hasn't it yet been released on DVD?

groovycuvee One of the most satisfying films I've seen. A bit obtuse but very well done if you are fond of tongue in cheek humor, outstanding portrayals, great direction and cinematography.The short version: This a whimsy that follows an aging Casanova and an eclectic group of Frenchmen as they travel through the French countryside in a coach during the time of the French Revolution. It's a comedy presented with delicacy and intellect and the cinematography is outstanding. It may or may not strike you as outstanding, as it did me, but it is so worth the time it will take to find it and see it two or three times.I just read the first posted review and had to laugh out loud. Aw shucks yawl, if it's so bad, why are copies on VHS selling for $300 to $400? I lost my copy to a friend who borrowed many times and never returned anything. Shame on her.If anyone knows where I can find a copy on VHS to dub, I'd be so appreciative. Thanks and do take a peek. "groovycuvee@netscape.net".