To see at the cinema: Did you like The Three Musketeers? You will love The Count of Monte Cristo with Pier Nini

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The victim of the conspiracy, young Edmond Dantes, is arrested on his wedding day for a crime he did not commit. After fourteen years of imprisonment at Chateau d’If, he managed to escape. Vastly enriched, he returns as the Count of Monte Cristo to seek revenge on the three men who betrayed him.

3 good reasons to visit The Count of Monte Cristo

For many viewers, the mere presence of Pierre Nin on screen is enough to rush into the theaters. And there’s no doubt that’s to be repeated with The Count of Monte Cristo, the most physical and ambitious project of his career, in which he’s flawless.

The feature film, which opens this Friday, June 28th, at the Direct Film Festival and runs through July 3rd. If that’s not enough for you, here are some other arguments.

1 – If you liked The Three Musketeers…

You don’t have to see one to see the other, even if we like to talk about the DCU (Dumas Cinematic Universe). But it is very difficult not to compare The Three Musketeers with the Count of Monte Cristo: because they have the same author, the same screenwriters (Mathieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patellier, the directors promoted here), the same producer (Dimitri Rassam) and the same ambition of the great French popular cinema, our French superheroes around.

And it’s clear that the feature film with Pierre Nin is even stronger than those of François Civil, Eva Green, Vincent Cassel, Romain Dury and Pio Marmay. Because this revenge story (told in one block) is more attractive, romantic and sunny (despite the darkness of certain aspects of the story) and less complicated.

More personal also for one of its directors: Alexandre’s father, Denis de la Patellier, directed a series adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo starring Jacques Weber in the late 70s. “I grew up with it”His son told us at the Cannes Film Festival, where the feature film was presented out of competition last May.

The Count of Monte Cristo is the best story we have ever heard

“I remember when I was 8 years old, I was on my father’s set, with the eyes of my little boy, I saw Jacques Weber in Monte Cristo. It had a huge impact on me and is one of my very strong childhood memories. Then I discovered the novel, around 16-17 years old, and it left an impression on me, so I grew up and, when we are screenwriters, we talk a lot about the screenwriters of Alexandre Dumas, the inventor of cinema, when it did not exist yet.”

So we talked a lot with Matthew about Monte Cristo as a form of reference. Because this is one of the best stories I have read in my life. But did this experience with my father really affect my destiny?

“When we were working on The Three Musketeers, we knew from the beginning that it would be Martin Bourboulon“Matthew Delaporte continues. “And it was when we came out of that experience that we were asked if we had dreams, wishes. We obviously said The Count of Monte Cristo, which to us is the best story ever. It’s completely incredible. When we were told. Yes, we rushed to do it. “.

2 – Great entertainment!

Considering that the heroes of Alexandre Dumas are part of our French superheroes, the Three Musketeers will be the Avengers. or the fantastic four. and Monte Cristo Batman. Without a doubt, and for good reason: “Monte Cristo is the original source of many superheroes”Pierre Nin explains.

“There are codes in Batman that we can find. The Batcave, which was Dante’s cave for us, where he works on masks, identities, costumes. He repeats with the youth that revenge has begun. There is some idea of ​​heroism, but what is interesting and goes beyond the prototypes of American heroes is that he is a vigilante, but he changes the justice of men and replaces them with God. “

“We’re in for some revenge fun until we realize he may already be in the process of turning into a monster instead of a vigilante. Which is philosophically and symbolically very interesting: how far one can take revenge and yet. is it fair?”

There are codes in The Count of Monte Cristo that can be found in Batman

Questions that recall the basis of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight saga, which we repeatedly think before this Count of Monte Cristo, even in music. Or a fight scene at night, brutal as hell, like this shot of Pierre Nin with a big coat that looks like a cape.

If the directors do not hide their admiration for the cinema of Oppenheimer’s author and admit that his images were able to enter their minds, they claim that they were not directly influenced by his adaptation of Batman, rather referring to such opus. like death on the trails (“A very dark film, very black, but bright under the sun”). But there’s no doubt that the feature film has a way of coming full circle, echoing one of Bat-Man’s greatest opus, in a story that the latter owes much to.

3 – maximum masks

Among the common points between the Count of Monte Cristo and Batman are: masks. One model in the case of Bruce Wayne, many more in Edmond Dantes. And this, without a doubt, is one of the great successes of this feature film, where we recognize certain characteristics of Pierre Nin, while others are different, without seeing the signs of makeup, which is the fault (and a little charm) of many films that use him.

More than the sets and costumes, it’s the masks that make the impression in this absolutely brilliant dinner scene, all flawless, or even tense, relying solely on the writing and acting. which required a large investment: “There is a lot of preparation, months before”Pierre Nini, also in Cannes, tells us.

“That’s what helped me the most in creating the characters. I had to see them. Before the make-up tests, we went back to the same characters several times, because we knew that only one of them had four to six hours of make-up to test. , whether it’s aging or expansion and just the graph Monte Cristo was about four hours before filming.

Considering the on-screen rendering, the game was definitely worth the effort. And we owe this work to Pierre-Olivier Persin, who notably did the makeup for the Night King in Game of Thrones. Hence the size and opportunity for Pierre Nini to highlight the injustice of seeing makeup artists who are not in the César categories when they are honored at the Oscars and BAFTAs.

Will the Count of Monte Cristo allow change in 2025? And also throw in some categories where this successful blockbuster movie will have its place? Answer next year, and in the meantime, you’re in for a nearly three-hour movie adventure.

Comments collected by Maximilien Pierret in Cannes on May 22, 2024