Le Radeau de la Méduse
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Le Radeau de la Méduse (The Raft of the Medusa) is a French film by Iradj Azimi (1994).
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[edit] Plot
1816. After the Battle of Waterloo, Louis XVIII is restored to the French throne. De Rochefort sets sail for Senegal on the frigate "Medusa", captained by Captain Chaumareys, with the future governor of Senegal and his wife, Julien and Reine Schmaltz, on board. In no time, the atmosphere of the voyage is thick with hatred and mistrust. The tension mounts between the autocratic, incompetent Capt. Chaumareys and Coudein, his lieutenant, until one fine day in June, despite Coudein's warnings, the "Medusa" is inexplicably wrecked. “The Raft of the Medusa” is a beautiful, paradoxical work. It is in a class of its own in French cinema — a spectacular show that is anti-spectacular. It carries a permanent tension between the novelistic lyricism of its storyline and the elevated dryness of its mise en scène, the majesty of its sets and music and the honed-down rigor of its framing and camerawork.
[edit] Cast
- Jean Yanne (Duroy de Chaumareys)
- Daniel Mesguich (Lt. Coudein)
- Claude Jade (Reine Schmaltz)
- Philippe Laudenbach (Julien Schmaltz)
- Victor Garrivier (Richefort)
- Laurent Terzieff (Théodore Géricault)