The Horseman on the Roof

This film is one of the most expensive films ever made in France but it was worthwhile. Even with such a huge budget, Jean-Paul Rappeneau is controling very well this epic film. Moreover, it shows numerous qualities which proves Rappeneau's confidence towards his film, for example: the beauty of the landscapes, the performance of the two main actors: Olivier Martinez who is very at ease in his role of soldier and Juliette Binoche who is ravishing and brave too, the briskly rhythm of the film itself and the quality of the screenplay which is sometimes ironic .I didn't read the novel by Jean Giono but I suppose that the film is very faithful to the novel. I noticed one thing in this film which is weird: very famous French actors have got only a little role: Gérard Depardieu who performs a policeman, Jean Yanne who is a hawker and François Cluzet who is a doctor. As a conclusion: an epic film which is worth to be seen

It takes quite an amazing group of people to make a great epic. Aside from great source material, really all the components have to be superb, and it has to be put together in such a way that the viewer is not left wondering what happened to a decade (see: Queen Margot).

Most of the necessary pieces are here, but there is something missing, some element that keeps it from being a truly great film. It is certainly a good one, a movie that is worth seeing, and worth doing so on a big screen, thanks to its beautiful scenery between France and Italy. The stars are very watchable, and the story is tight enough to keep your attention throughout. Unlike many films of its genre, it is not overlong.

Ironically, I found myself comparing it to another Binoche epic, The English Patient, which made me wonder what was lacking in light of what I consider to be a finer film. In the end, it may be simply that the latter had a novel that was more compelling, or a lead (Fiennes) that was just more riveting.

The story is of two people fleeing the outbreak of cholera in early 19th century France. Angelo is attempting to return to his native Italy, to join the revolution, and Pauline is searching for something... They manage to aid each other's flight.

In the great tradition of French period epics, this is not the pinnacle, but it is near the upper echelon. It's worth a shot.

Two superstars of the french cinema: adorable Juliette Binoche and hot Olivier Martinez, love and save each other from lost, sickness and death, while horse-riding through the stunningly beautiful Provence. An adaptation of the famous novel by Jean Giono. They are there: on the screen, on their horses, in this magnificent landscape, he tries to become a man, she tries to stay a woman, they are smiling, and soon you'll express the wish of being with them on this screen, to be one of them, maybe both, if this happens, Rappeneau gets to his goal: grace. A great tale about love, renouncement, youth, passion, courage and Honor. A famous novel of the french literature. Patriotism, romanticism, and grace. Rappeneau is the master, Binoche and Martinez are the gifted pupils.

This gorgeous movie was set in the cholera stricken period which wiped out the whole of Europe in 10 days. Juliette Binoche, in her pre-The English Patient role, was as gorgeous and subtle as ever. The thing about this movie though that it's billed as a romance but you don't see it anywhere but just hints of it and feel the sexual tensions between the 2 main characters. Rather disappointing for some but it's that exact same formula which makes it such a beautiful movie to watch. To top it off, it was filmed in the French countryside which is so breathtaking that you could just watch the movie for the cinematography alone. All in all, it's a superb movie in the tradition of finely crafted French costume dramas.

Le Hussard sur le Toit presents its audience with the grim reality of cholera-stricken rural France in 1832 and its effect on a journey of escape by two anxious visitors. The frequent images of corpses and mass burial are refreshed by the breathtaking and beautifully shot scenery, itself brought to life by characters who dilute the presence of death with an oxymoronic mix of comedy and despair. Carrion crows regularly appear, mercilessly flying around in sinister anticipation, their cawing beaks wide open with hunger.

Juliette Binoche enters only in the second half, her laconic period style beautifully portrayed, and preparing the way for her appearance as George Sand in Les Enfants du Siecle (1999). Le Hussard's plot is simple, its screenplay uncomplicated. But the action is fast and Bond-like and the innocence of Martinez' military-dominated character is uncanny. But it is its simplicity that makes this movie a work of exceptional visual satisfaction, for romantics or action-lovers alike.