Plague version 2029 on France 2: How much is this modern adaptation of Camus’s work with Sofia Esaid and Hugo Becker worth?

What is it about?

“We’re in 2029, in a society where today’s fears and concerns sound outlandish. This company is just coming out of the wave of the Covid epidemic. And the plague he faces is far more terrifying… While we’ve learned to live with seasonal variants of Covid, this southern city discovers a new variant of the plague bacillus called YP2. With no cure, the central government decides to spare the rest of the country by locking down the city – then deploying the mysterious ‘Plan D’, the hideous mechanisms of which we gradually discover.“

According to the work of Albert Camus, the plague is a four-episode mini-series, airing on Monday 4 March and Monday 11 March 2024 at 9.10pm on France 2 (two episodes are offered in the evening).

who is he with

Frederic Pierrot Dr. Bernard Rieux shoes here. Hugo Becker and Sofia Essaide play a couple created by journalist Sylvain Rambert and scientist Laurence Molinier. Judith Chemla plays music teacher Lucy Ferriere.

They face Pascal Arbilo (Juliette Rieux), Johan Heldenberg (Jean Tarot), Elias Hauter (Jackie Roux) and Constance Basque (Nora Sokolova). Elias Hauter (Jackie Roux), Eric Nagar (Cotard) and Guillaume Marquet (Judge Othon).

Gilles Tauran and Georges-Marc Benamou wrote the screenplay and Antoine Garçot directed.

Is it worth checking out?

This version of the plague takes viewers into the future, 2029, to offer a dystopian vision of our society during a new pandemic. The strength of Albert Camus’s story remains in its timelessness, as his words perfectly fit our not-so-distant era.

In this fictional city where our heroes live, a totalitarian state is everywhere and populism is king. As a wave of deadly pollution hits residents in the middle of summer, fake news, panic and police violence are on the rise, while hospital services continue to be disrupted.

The screenwriters of this TV fiction took some liberties with the author’s book…but all were confirmed by Catherine Camus, the daughter of the main stakeholder, who died in 1960. It is said in a very educational way, perhaps, unfortunately, a little too much.

Frederic Pierrot’s sometimes noisy interventions, fixing the writer’s text, often do not relieve and enhance the feeling of listening to a lecture. Despite this, the performances of the actor and his partners are quite convincing, although relatively classical. However, Sofia Esaid stands out, perhaps because of the greater freedom she has in the game, thanks to the invention of her character.

The world of the plague, the series will definitely bring back bad memories of the Covid-19 epidemic and its special atmosphere. Delving into it, even if there is still hope in this project, will bring to the surface anxious feelings that are unfortunately all too familiar…

Despite its modernity, this adaptation of The Plague feels a bit sluggish and sometimes lacks panache, despite its decidedly heavy subject matter. Nevertheless, this fiction should arouse the interest and curiosity of the France 2 public due to its originality.