Balzac (1999) (TV)

Avaliação/usuário:

6,7/10   

Diretor:

Josée Dayan

Roteirista:

Didier Decoin (writer)

Release Date:

23 Outubro 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Chamada:

He burned with ambition. He lived for passion.

Plot:

Honoré de Balzac was a man who lived to write. His life was a hard, permanent struggle, from his cold...

Plot Keywords:

Author | Book | Paris France | 19th Century | Mother Son Relationship

Comentários dos usuários:

Loved Gerard, but not the character he played

Cast

Gérard Depardieu	...	Honoré de Balzac
Jeanne Moreau	...	Charlotte-Laure
Fanny Ardant	...	Eve Hanska
Virna Lisi	...	Madame de Berny
Katja Riemann	...	Laure d'Abrantès
Claude Rich	...	Maitre Plissoud
Gert Voss	...	Victor Hugo
Sergio Rubini	...	Eugene Sue
François Marthouret	...	Docteur Nacquart
Marianne Denicourt	...	Adèle Hugo
Gottfried John	...	Count Hanska
Pascal Vannson	...	Paradis
Hervé Briaux	...	Charles Sedillot
Didier Lesour	...	Surveillant Bossu
Enguerran Demeulenaere	...	Balzac Enfant

Conhecida como:

Balzac - Ein Leben voller Leidenschaft (Germany)
Balzac: A Life of Passion (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sensuality and brief partial nudity.

Duração:

180 min (2 parts) | USA:240 min (including commercials) | 60 min (4 episodes)

País:

France | Italy | Germany

Língua:

French

Color:

Color

Som:

Stereo

Censura:

USA:PG-13 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

TF1

Loved Gerard, but not the character he played

I love Gerard Depardieu. The man works ALL the time, and he is one of the most gifted actors in the history of cinema and theatre. However, I just couldn't watch all of this mini-series. It was too painful. Yes, geniuses and artists can be difficult to live with--as Picasso's many wives and mistresses can attest. But Balzac just seemed to be a JERK! I know that some of it he couldn't help--such as having a mother who blew hot and cold (mostly cold)--but everyone here either was a manipulator or an enabler. Balzac's behavior was like that of an alcoholic or compulsive gambler: so sure that this time things were really going to come together, and wheedling people out of desperation, promising the moon and the stars, only to revert back to his old ways when yet another crisis was averted. Having lived with a man like him more than a decade ago, this one brought back too many bad memories for me to finish it on the second night, when I hear that Fanny Ardent gave a memorable performance. I tried to tell myself, "this is Gerard playing a character," but in this case, he almost succeeded too well.

To the producers' credit, the set, costumes, and photography were beautiful. And I did think it was a very clever "inside joke" for them to include dialogue about Balzac's book "Colonel Chabert"--which was made into a movie starring Mr. Depardieu several years ago. It's just that Balzac, unlike Edmond Dantesor or even Georges from "Green Card," is just not at all the type of character I could muster up any sympathy or empathy for. It will not stop me from seeing what Gerard and Josee Dayan do next. I'm looking forward to Les Miserables already:)