Queen Margot

A masterpiece of European cinema, a tragic melodrama and an impressive historical spectacle. The axis of the plot is the infamous St. Bartholomew’s Night massacre of August 23-24, 1572—a bloodbath that saw thousands of Protestants slaughtered as they celebrated the politically fraught marriage between a Catholic princess and a Huguenot king. What was meant to end religious strife instead ignited its most brutal chapter. Monumental and unmistakably French, Queen Margot is more than lavish period filmmaking. Director Patrice Chéreau is not afraid to immerse himself into the horror, filth, and violence of the era, exposing the unembellished face of the Counter-Reformation. Yet, what lingers longest is its profoundly Shakespearean exploration of human passion and outstanding, psychologically deepened characters. Isabelle Adjani delivers an iconic performance as the titular Margot, while Virna Lisi’s chilling portrayal of the merciless Catherine de Medici was honored at Cannes.

Katarzyna Kebernik

Patrice Chéreau (1944 – 2013) – made his debut in Cinema in 1974 with The Flesh of the Orchid, kept in the convention of a hardboiled crime film. Queen Margot (1994), awarded at the Cannes Film Festival with the Jury Prize for Best Film, brought him huge commercial and artistic success. For Intimacy (2001), he received the César Award for Best Director. His distinctive style of films is often called erotic realism. He was broadly interested in issues of ethics, psychology and human existence.