De Broca makes with "Chouans" a historical movie about French revolution. However, not in Paris, but in Brittany, where 2 factions were opposed: republicans and royalists.
A war went on, with terror and blood from both sides.
History, if respected as a whole, is not however the backbone of this movie.
De Broca decided indeed to focus on one "family" composed of an earl and his son, a second son, adopted, and finally a daughter, also adopted and used that to show how you could end on one side due to circumstances.
Of course both men are in love with the girl - Sophie Marceau, and their battle for the girl takes the main part of the movie.
Noiret, as the earl, embodies at the same time the reason - refusing war and defending its people, and the dream - with its flying machines.
But despite these good intentions, none of the characters felt realistic enough. I guess Lambert Wilson's one is the most interesting one, emboying the 'Terror' of French revolution is the most interesting with its inner conflicts - and its walk towards abyss. Noiret's character is nice but stays too much 'out' of both the story and of history. Marceau is charming but seems to only have one mission in the movie: show her cleavage.
In conclusion, I went through the movie without passion and would have preferred more information about that specific time.
