The Last Mitterrand: Difference between revisions
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When the resulting book appeared in 1997 however, Benamou was turned upon by many of Mitterand's family and associates - even [[Pierre Bergé]], who financed the ''Globe '' magazine called it a work of "absolute treachery" - and they would not help with the film. It seems they were particularly outraged not by revelations about Mitterand's private life, or anything to do with [[Vichy France|Vichy]], but with a description of Mitterand devouring a plateful of [[ortolan]]s - a protected species and forbidden under [[European Union|EU]] law. Certain other people at the dinner called Benamou a liar saying this incident never happened. Benamou denied this. In 2004 one of Mitterand's closest associates, who had also been at the meal said Benamou was right but no ortolans appear in the film and Mitterand eats a plate of [[oyster]]s. Benamou, an Algerian born [[Sephardic]] Jew, asserted that he had not found Mitterand anti-semitic either in his time in Vichy or afterwards, - something that Mitterand, who sometimes spoke of 'le lobby juif', his term for some French Jews' and their focus on his wartime record - had been accused of. Benamou defended Mitterand in spite of his protection of collaborators like [[René Bousquet]] and [[Maurice Papon]] - "Papon became a minister under [[Giscard d'Estaing]]; he was chief of police under [[Charles de Gaulle|de Gaulle]]. This is not a secret of Mitterand [but of] the French bourgeoisie and Mitterand was an emblem of that."<ref> Le Président et moi, The Observer, 3 July 2005, p.11 [http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/jul/03/features.review Le Président et moi]</ref> |
When the resulting book appeared in 1997 however, Benamou was turned upon by many of Mitterand's family and associates - even [[Pierre Bergé]], who financed the ''Globe '' magazine called it a work of "absolute treachery" - and they would not help with the film. It seems they were particularly outraged not by revelations about Mitterand's private life, or anything to do with [[Vichy France|Vichy]], but with a description of Mitterand devouring a plateful of [[ortolan]]s - a protected species and forbidden under [[European Union|EU]] law. Certain other people at the dinner called Benamou a liar saying this incident never happened. Benamou denied this. In 2004 one of Mitterand's closest associates, who had also been at the meal said Benamou was right but no ortolans appear in the film and Mitterand eats a plate of [[oyster]]s. Benamou, an Algerian born [[Sephardic]] Jew, asserted that he had not found Mitterand anti-semitic either in his time in Vichy or afterwards, - something that Mitterand, who sometimes spoke of 'le lobby juif', his term for some French Jews' and their focus on his wartime record - had been accused of. Benamou defended Mitterand in spite of his protection of collaborators like [[René Bousquet]] and [[Maurice Papon]] - "Papon became a minister under [[Giscard d'Estaing]]; he was chief of police under [[Charles de Gaulle|de Gaulle]]. This is not a secret of Mitterand [but of] the French bourgeoisie and Mitterand was an emblem of that."<ref> Le Président et moi, The Observer, 3 July 2005, p.11 [http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/jul/03/features.review Le Président et moi]</ref> |
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The film won a [[César award]] for [[Michel Bouquet]] |
The film won a [[César award]] for [[Michel Bouquet]] in his role as Mitterand. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 16:37, 17 March 2013
| Le Promeneur du Champ de Mars | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Robert Guédiguian |
| Written by | Georges-Marc Benamou |
| Starring | Michel Bouquet Jalil Lespert Sarah Grappin |
Release date | 29 July 2005 |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
Le Promeneur du Champ de Mars (English title: The Last Mitterrand) is a fictional film depicting the final period in the life of an unnamed French President (but the English title suggests the president is François Mitterrand). The film is based on the book Le Dernier Mitterrand by Georges-Marc Benamou.
Benamou had talked with and accompanied Mitterand for the last 1,000 days of his presidency. Benamou worked for a small circulation magazine called Globe - a magazine for champagne socialists- la gauche caviar in the french idiom. It is not clear why Mitterand chose Benamou but the journalist has said they got on well and discussed life, women and literature.
When the resulting book appeared in 1997 however, Benamou was turned upon by many of Mitterand's family and associates - even Pierre Bergé, who financed the Globe magazine called it a work of "absolute treachery" - and they would not help with the film. It seems they were particularly outraged not by revelations about Mitterand's private life, or anything to do with Vichy, but with a description of Mitterand devouring a plateful of ortolans - a protected species and forbidden under EU law. Certain other people at the dinner called Benamou a liar saying this incident never happened. Benamou denied this. In 2004 one of Mitterand's closest associates, who had also been at the meal said Benamou was right but no ortolans appear in the film and Mitterand eats a plate of oysters. Benamou, an Algerian born Sephardic Jew, asserted that he had not found Mitterand anti-semitic either in his time in Vichy or afterwards, - something that Mitterand, who sometimes spoke of 'le lobby juif', his term for some French Jews' and their focus on his wartime record - had been accused of. Benamou defended Mitterand in spite of his protection of collaborators like René Bousquet and Maurice Papon - "Papon became a minister under Giscard d'Estaing; he was chief of police under de Gaulle. This is not a secret of Mitterand [but of] the French bourgeoisie and Mitterand was an emblem of that."[1]
The film won a César award for Michel Bouquet in his role as Mitterand.
References
- ^ Le Président et moi, The Observer, 3 July 2005, p.11 Le Président et moi
External links
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