Before Gabriel Le Boumin’s “De Gaulle”, which aired tonight on France 2, there was very little interest in the life of the general, who is still considered a major figure in French history. For what reasons?
He remains one of the most popular figures in French history and yet … 52 years after his death, very few films have attempted the challenge of adapting to the screen of General de Gaulle’s life, at least before the film’s release. Gabriel Le Boumin’s film De Gaulle, which airs tonight on France 2.
Considered a major figure in our country’s history, why was de Gaulle so underrepresented in cinema, while his colleague Winston Churchill, in turn, appears almost every year in British works of art?
The first reason is historical. The hero of World War II, Charles de Gaulle, symbolizes the symbol of resistance, this fire that does not go out, and at the end of the conflict, he symbolizes the almost sacred figure of French thought.
Moreover, director René Clement justified his choice not to portray the general in his film Paris is burning? Only with his archival footage “The ability to imagine the devil (Editor’s note: Hitler played by Billy Frick) But not the good Lord “. Worshiper Charles de Gaulle still drew a lot of criticism during his visit to the Elysee in 1958-1969, as the traumas of the Algerian war and the May 68 student protests finally forced him to resign.
Although the image of the general has been oppressed and tarnished by political opponents, it has remained strongly favored for decades, which is a paradox, as the character de Gaulle has never appeared in feature films in cinema. , Sometimes in the performance of their functions (Nicolas Sarkozy in the film “Conquest”, François Hollande “The Last Campaign” …).
Then comes the second reason: the inability to embody General de Gaulle. Due to its large size, but also due to its emblematic characteristics, the latter obviously can not embody the first actor.
Moreover, director Bertrand Tavernier trusts our colleagues Point To create a biographical film dedicated to de Gaulle; The project was never successful, especially because of the will of producer Rene Kleitman to entrust the lead role to Gerard Depardieu, not so obvious physical resemblance.
To say that the life of Charles de Gaulle was never brought to the screen is not entirely correct, as this observation applies only to cinema. Several television films have indeed been dedicated to the General, most often with good results: I, General de Gaulle in 1990 (with Henri Serre), Grand Charles 2006 (with Bernard Farce), Adie de Gaulle, Farewell in 2009. (With Pierre Vernier) or at least I heard you (with Patrick Chesney) and L’Appel du 18 juin (Michel Villermoz) both on air in 2010.
It would therefore be necessary to wait half a century after his death for a film dedicated to Charles de Gaulle to finally see the light of day: This biographical film by Gabriel Le Boumin starring Lambert Wilson looks behind the scenes of what Charles de Gaulle looks like. 18 June. The film also marked one of the best box office starts in 2020, ending its career with nearly 870,000 entries. The figure is welcome, as it is clearly necessary to consider the context of the pandemic and the multiple constraints of that year.
Source: allocine
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
