Der Graf von Monte Christo

Have you ever had something really unfair happen to you?

Have you ever been betrayed by people you trusted?

Have you ever had the feeling of wanting to show them all and teach them a lesson?

Have you ever been mad with rage?

Have you ever thought that if you had the chance you would do so much good in the world?

Have you ever wondered about what cost your actions and words have on other people far out in the future?

Have you ever been consumed with an idea you wouldn't separate from?

Have you ever held onto someone even though they moved on?

Have you ever had your life fall apart?

Have you ever convinced yourself that you were right, only to learn that you were wrong?

If you can say yes to just one of these things. This movie is for you. A masterpiece. I sat with profound feelings of mercy and grace towards myself and others after watching this movie.

I will not deny it, I think the film is really beautiful : production design, costumes, props... and of course lighting (congrats M. Bolduc) and many other details helped make it a wonderful experience for the eyes, in my opinion.

Now with a plot so huge as with Dumas', so many characters, theads, sub-stories and such, the authors had to cut things, adapt, re-write... betray, as is often necessary or critical with any adaptation!

That's a given.

But why dishonor the original author's choices (Dumas')?

Why betray the lessons he wanted to impart : Monte Cristo's moral dilemma, his good nature overall, his help to so many, and unrivaled loyalty to anyone who had been good to him or deserved it in any way ?

Why change Haydée's love for him for a silly romance?

Even Mercedes' understanding of Monte Cristo's actions and why she can't be saved, and why Albert has to follow her are admirable, in the book...

And what are we left with, here?

Pure show?

I can assure you it's not what remains, when you read it.

Usually not a fan of action movies, the wonderful cast as well as the choice of a classic of French literature convinced me to go watch LE COMTE DE MONTE CRISTO. And man I wasn't disappointed !

Despite its three-hour runtime, the movie never bores. When it doesn't keep us on our toes, it shows us eye-popping scenes of 19th century France, leaving us wondering how they made that with only 40M euros ! I guess the beautiful cinematography and clever editing have a role to play in making this movie stand out from much costlier Hollywood productions.

Of course much of the credit also goes to Alexandre Dumas for coming up with such a poignant story, but adapting it for the screen sure wasn't an easy task either, and it was done marvelously here.

I sincerely hope this movie will have a career outside of France, as more people deserve to see this.

Merci Alexandre, merci Matthieu :)

I read the books and saw two other versions of it as a film.

I asked myself what was the idea to make another version even though 18 exist already.

I watched it in French and realized that it is pretty far off the original storyline. Some characters are missing and others adapted. Apart from the great costumes and the brilliant locations, it seemed to me that only the beautiful, 'rich' sides were shown. The prison seemed too romanticised to me, as did the society. The Count could hardly stand out from the others due to his wealth and mystique, because this didn't always come to the surface.

Nevertheless, the film is entertaining and I was never bored. It managed to tell the whole story, although in a different way. Unfortunately, I couldn't answer the question of why this film was made, because it's just another version.

Watch the film if you don't know the story yet and like a romanticised story. Otherwise, I recommend the book by Alexandre Dumas and the film 'The Count of Monte Cristo 2002'.

It's hard not to notice that modern adaptations of classical works often tend to sacrifice depth and complexity for the sake of fast pace and entertainment. As a result, the special atmosphere and emotional depth inherent in the original texts are often lost. "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas is not just a twisted story of revenge with many bright twists, it is a reflection on life and how a person is transformed by circumstances and his own decisions. Alas, the new film adaptation, and this, of course, in my opinion, coped with the task of conveying this transformation - satisfactorily, but no more, leaving the characters at a simple and understandable level of archetypes.

Expectations did not come from an empty place, because many people read this fascinating tragedy of revenge and had hopes to see the development and deepening of the characters on a par with the original source. At the same time, the audience was offered a set of events that take place too quickly, as if on a high-speed cinema highway. Deep emotions, nuances of character, dramatic internal conflicts - all this was clearly not enough. But it is these details that make the work alive and truly memorable. Yes, undoubtedly, a thousand pages of a novel cannot be transferred into one film, but this is the power of creativity - the ability to revive images and give the viewer empathy. In the film, all this is there, but dosed, within the framework of the standard form of monosyllabic presentation.

The film is not bad, but spoiling Dumas means being completely incompetent, and, to my joy, I can't blame anyone for that. But I expected more and I'm a little disappointed. The whole film was shot with a 24 mm wide-angle lens, and it was unnecessary: there are clearly not enough close-ups, especially when the actors play well. Despite the decent acting, the characters seem to be unsaid and aimless, reduced to simplified and stripped-down images.

During the viewing, I hoped to see a philosophical reassessment or depth of thought in the scene with "Abbé Faria", but, unfortunately, only the Soviet painting by Georgy Jungwald-Khilkevich with Alexei Petrenko as the abbot was able to prepare the viewer, lay the foundation for the climax, making them realize the suffering of the prisoners and catch the main question: "What are you up to Will you spend your life, for revenge or for good?". After this episode, it became clear that the story would quickly sweep through the pages of the fireproof manuscript, and so it turned out.

The connection with the epoch and with the literary echoes of the past, which give the original its special flavor and indescribable integrity, has disappeared. Perhaps this is a sign of the times. Modern technology allows you to create impressive visual effects, but no technique can replace the power of a story, the ability to convey a mood and invite the viewer into a deep understanding of life. One thing is for sure: trying to adapt classics is always a challenge that requires incredible skill and understanding of the text. This is a difficult task, and, alas, not everyone can overcome this path, but the task was done well, although there was a residue of disappointment.