The Princess of Montpensier (Bertrand Tavernier, 2010): France

Reviewed by Emily Day. Viewed at the AFI Film Festival, Hollywood.

The Princess of Montpenseir is a beautiful film about love, lust and loss.

Bertrand Tavernier, along with a wonderful cast including the ever talented Melanie Thierry and Lambert Wilson tell a wonderfully tragic story about a young woman who finds herself being played as a bargaining chip and placed into the role of a young prince’s wife. Set in old France with castles and royal courtyards for a backdrop, Taverneir depicts the life of the young girl who becomes princess of Montpensier at such a young age. Once involved romantically with a childhood sweetheart, the princess must leave all of it behind before entering life as the wife of a powerful young prince. The young woman very soon realizes that being beautiful can get you into trouble, especially if you are married to a jealous man.Never being able to take control of her life, she resolves to the lowly position of sneaking around her ever present and anxious husband.

The rolling hills and beautiful pastures painted in this film are sure to keep the audience watching and waiting for the next scene to unfold. From an aesthetic point of view one can appreciate the costumes in this period film as well as the location. Every character is adorned to the toe in lavish attire thanks to wonderful costume design by Annabel Leroye. I felt that Bertrand Tavernier did a beautiful job staying true to the time period and creating a believable environment for the characters to live. Perhaps my favorite aspect of the film could be accredited to the cinematography and Mise-en-scene. When one attends a period film, I would expect all that this film offered it’s audience.

The American Film Institute’s annual Film festival explained that having The Princess of Montpensier be a part of their showcase was quite an honor because of the wonderful work Bertrand put into making this film. The screenplay was clearly thought out and the dialog was witty and at times even a bit humorous. The storytelling in this film was eloquent and vibrant and I felt that all the elements worked together wonderfully. Every good movie has a little suspense and this film is no exception. Sword fights and war keep the story exciting but perhaps the most moving piece of the whole film is the heartache the princess endures.  The princess’ emotions are clearly displayed and beautifully acted in the film.