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Probably best remembered for both her legendary excesses and the manner
of her death, Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna von Habsburg-Lothringen is
known to the world and in the history books simply as Marie
Antoinette, born an Archduchess of Austria and later becoming the
Queen of France. The daughter of Holy Romanic Francis I and Maria
Theresa of Austria and the 15th of 16 children, she was born at the
Hofburg Palace in Vienna.
Listening to descriptions of her upbringing and the manner in which she
was groomed for her place in life seems quite paradoxical; even as a
young girl she is described as well heeled, graceful and lovely, yet
had a pronounced distaste for reading with a degree of trouble writing. Her
tutors make mention of her being far more intelligent than one would
presume her to be given her scholastic accomplishments, the problem
being her aversion to concentrate and apply herself to doing the work
necessary to learn. Her mother, the true ruler of Austria, is depicted
as a woman who carries herself as more of a head of state than a mother
in regards to the raising of her children.
In that period there were many arranged marriages between royal offspring
that were made by families in order to solidify or create a better peace
between nations, which was the case between 14 year old Maria Antonia and
the grandson of Louis XV, Louis-Auguste- this one with aims to end nearly a
century and a half of conflict between Austria and France. On April 19, 1770
the arrangement for this union took place in Vienna's Augustine Church. A
sobbing Maria Antonia left Vienna to her mother's parting words, "Farewell,
my dearest. Do so much good to the French people that they can say that I
have sent them an angel."
As an act of loyalty, Maria Antonia was required to leave all her Austrian
possessions behind, down to the clothes she was wearing and including all jewelry
the new bride possessed. She moved on to what would be her new home and was
conveyed to the palace at Versailles, where she met her future
grandfather-in-law, Louis XV and other members of the royal family. Her
future husband, the Dauphin Louis-Auguste was shy and plump, and at only 15
years old had no knowledge pertaining to sex or the ways of women in
general. The Wedding Mass was celebrated in the Chapelle Royale on May 16
and after a large supper the court conducted the couple to their wedding
bed, which had been blessed by the Archbishop of Reims. Unlike today's
social custom, what went on in that bedroom was not a secret at all- in fact
was to be made public knowledge. What went on was nothing- the two slept.
Not only was their marriage not consummated on that night, it was not
consummated for years to come, Louis-Auguste becoming shyer and shyer with
his wife, though he stated that he adored the woman. He had an affection for
hunting and metalwork; his wife wanted to explore a life of pleasure. While
he was sleeping at night, Maria was living the kind of lavish existence
reserved for the very wealthy, attending ornate costume balls, taking in the
opera and gambling away huge amounts of money and amassing debts which were
quietly taken care of by her family.
Louis-Auguste and Marie Antoinette's lives changed suddenly on May 10, 1774
when King Louis XV died of smallpox. New king Louis XVI and his queen
reportedly fell to their knees in prayer, Louis saying "Dear God, guide and
protect us. We are too young to reign." What follows in this 2 hour telling
of the life of Marie Antoinette is the story of a woman who helped provoke
an uprising that was to become the French Revolution. Having lived a life of
such extravagance with no boundaries, she came down to earth too late to
avoid the retribution that befell her family. She was a a pawn in a vast
political game that in time sent her to the guillotine, charged with the
high crime of treason at the age of 37.
Written and directed by David Grubin and narrated by actress Blair Brown,
this is a documentary that strives to relate her life from all manner of
viewpoints, decadent yet overstated and sympathetic, allowing the woman to
emerge in the end as a courageous, sympathetic woman who was born into
aristocracy and knew little of any other way of life until it was brutally
thrust upon her. With wonderful insights by historians Antonia Fraser,
Simon Schama, Evelyne Lever, Antoine de Baecque and Fanny Cosandey and
novelist Chantal Thomas we are given many viewpoints and looks into her life
both personal and public as well as the state of France in that timeframe.
Without the benefit of period photographs or film to employ, Grubin instead
makes fine use of several other mediums with which to unfurl this immense
story. Dozens of paintings, drawings and portraits are used to bring this
era to vivid life, as well as employing reenactments and both film and
photographs of the areas of France in which many of the events took
place.
Video-
Aspect ratio here is 1.78:1 widescreen. With lots of lush, demanding
material such as portraits and ornate landscaping, colors appear bright and
vivid and sharpness is good. There is an occasional bit of shimmering from
time to time but nothing that should deter from enjoying the film.
Audio-
The only audio track here is English stereo, clear and easy to understand
and fine for documentary purposes.
Extras-
No extras.
Final Thoughts-
For me Marie Antoinette is a bit of a mixed bag. I can easily say
that this is not the fault of PBS Home Video nor Gruber's production, who
has done is usual fine job here. The documentary itself works on many
levels, conveying to the viewer what is probably the best filmed telling of
her life and times one could hope to see. My problem was that I simply
wasn't terribly interested in the subject matter, nor taking it in over a 2
hour period; no matter how inviting the production itself is, it still
seemed to take alot of effort to keep my interest throughout. If you're a
history buff who is looking for a solid documentary on Marie Antoinette this
selection will be hard to beat, but for most casual viewers I recommend that
you rent it. |
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