Bringing the French Revolution back to life

Historian Alain Nice thinks it is important to remember the French Revolution and to present it in such a way that people remember the context in which it happened. “So often, when it comes to retelling our history, the French Revolution is presented from the losers’ side, the monarchy’s side,” he says. “It’s important to present it in context.”

Mr Nice is passionately devoted to living history and is also president of Carmagnole Liberté, an association which re-enacts revolutionary events from 1892-94. “There is no real intention or even desire to reinstate the monarchy in France. It’s just a fairy tale, a dream, a celebrity cult, that’s all. And many re-enactment groups buy into that dream too, but our association is seriously interested in reconstructing history, not in rewriting it. We even lend people costumes for free. We’d sooner do that than have people making inaccurate costumes on their own.”

He and 30 re-enactors from the group have just returned from a trip to Moscow. Historical re-enactment is massively popular there and Carmagnole Liberté was invited to take part in an international festival of re-enactors. “It was amazing to be there, at the centenary of the 1917 Russian revolution, which was at least in part modelled on and inspired by our revolution in 1789. The Russians we met spoke perfect French and were very well informed about the French Revolution,” he says.

The group members do not play specific characters, although some of them bear a natural resemblance to well-known personalities such as Robespierre. He feels it is a shame that there are so few serious re-enactments of the Revolution.

“It’s important for people to understand their history. When I was in school, we spent an entire term studying it, but now it’s all polished off in a week or two. We’d like to go into schools more, but since most of us are working in the week it’s difficult,” he says.

CATCH UP WITH FILMS

Why not bone up on the French revolution the easy way? La Revolution Française (1989) by Robert Enrico, with its star-studded cast and fabulous French locations, is detailed, historically accurate and comprehensive. If you want a crash course in the history of the French Revolution, this is definitely the binge-watch for you. The two parts run for a total of around six hours, however, and it is currently only available in French, but you can at least get a flavour of the mood with the following cinematic gems:

Sofia Coppola’s Marie-Antoinette is visually stunning. OK, it is a pop version of the facts but is entertaining, easily available in English, and contains Kirsten Dunst’s interpretation of the infamous “Let them eat cake” quote.

Les Adieux à la Reine (Farewell my Queen) by Benoit Jacquot is another Marie-Antoinette tale, if Sofia Coppola’s offering is just too modern for you. Only available in French, it tells much the same story, but includes a side-plot about the queen’s “reader” suffering from unrequited love.

Les Misérables (2012) by Tom Hooper, starring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, is not exactly a history lesson but is a thoroughly enjoyable musical set during the revolution.

Chouans! (2007) by Philippe de Broca (only available in French) is a TV version of Balzac’s novel about a band of Catholic royalists with a love story at its heart. The DVD contains a film-length condensed version as well as all four original episodes. A must for Sophie Marceau fans.

Lady Oscar (1979) by Jacques Demy (The Rose of Versailles in English) is a rare DVD but definitely worth picking up if you find it in a garage sale or second-hand shop. Or you can watch it on Youtube. Dressed as a man by her aristocrat father, Lady Oscar fights her way through the French Revolution as a royalist soldier. Fantastically plastic. A cult must-watch.

Les Mariés de l’An II (1971) by Jean-Paul Rappeneau stars Jean-Paul Belmondo as an expat aristocrat forced to return to revolutionary France during Year Two of the revolution in order to divorce his estranged wife. Only available in French and, to be honest, it is short on educational content. But you know, it is Belmondo. What can we say?

Danton (1983) by Andrzej Wajda stars Gérard Depardieu at the height of his acting powers in an emotional biopic of the revolutionary who ended up going to the guillotine himself. Available in French or English, or with English subtitles.

Ridicule by Patrice Leconte (1996) is the story of a poor nobleman who goes to court to ask Louis XVI to help finance the draining of the rancid swamps which are killing his peasants. Very witty explanation of how the French Revolution came about from one of France’s best film-makers.

DID YOU KNOW?

• During the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, there were only seven prisoners in the jail at that time, one of whom was the Marquis de Sade. The main purpose was not to release prisoners (who were nobility anyway) but to capture arms and gunpowder.
• “Sans culottes” does not really mean “no knickers”, it means “no knee breeches”, which were de rigeur for the upper classes. The “sans culottes” wore long trousers.