Farewell, My Queen [Blu-ray]

The Moral Disintegration of the Palace of Versailles at the Moment of Revolution
We have all wanted, at some point in our lives, to be a fly on the wall at a moment of historical significance. The fly - this time - is a servant to Queen Marie Antoinette played magically by Lea Seydoux. The entire film revolves around "her" point of view.

Sidonie Laborde reads books to the Queen and is summoned at all hours of night and day to respond to Marie Antoinette's whims. It is apparent that Sidonie, a naive girl, has a schoolgirl crush on the Queen but is emotionally hurt by the fact that her majesty is in thrall to another beautiful woman, la Duchess de Polignac. There is a telling scene where Sidonie opens the chamber of la Duchesse when the other is fast asleep and nude, and she examines the woman from almost a clinical perspective - trying to understand where is the charm? But the love triangle takes second place to the reality of the urgent news that the Bastille Prison has just been stormed by the people of Paris and its jailer mutilated by the mob...

A View From The Outside: A Fascinating Peek Into The Last Days Of Marie Antoinette's Court
There was a subtle power to "Farewell, My Queen" that completely snuck up on me. I lead with this statement because I'm not often surprised by movies. As I was enjoying Benoit Jacquot's portrait of the last days of Marie Antoinette's court, I was admiring the staging, the performances, and the lush settings. Jacquot places everything through the eyes of one of Antoinette's ladies-in-waiting. As she catches glimpses of the court in turmoil and the escalating political tensions, so do the viewers. As it is constructed, I felt like a voyeur to the unfolding drama--a partner, of sorts, to the lead character. As such, "Farewell, My Queen" is less of a historical recounting of the events in question as it is a peek behind the curtain. This approach lends an unpredictability to a somewhat familiar subject. Even though I have seen dozens of dramatizations of Antoinette, this one seemed remarkably fresh as it was only peripherally about the central subject. It does, at times, seem...

Beautifully shot - but emotionally distant - recreation of French palace life on the eve of revolution
Farewell My Queen (Les adieux à la reine), directed by Beno