''Le Radeau de la Méduse'' (English: ''The Raft of the Medusa'') is a French film by Iranian film director

Iradj Azimi Iradj, a variant of Iraj, is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Iradj Alexander (born 1975), Swiss race car driver *Iradj Fazel (born 1939), Iranian surgeon and academic * Iradj Gandjbaksh (born 1941), Iranian cardiac surgeon See ...

. It is based on the 1816 wreck of the French frigate ''Méduse'', and the 1819 painting ''Le Radeau de la Méduse'' by Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault which depicts the event. Filming began in 1987, but was interrupted by

Hurricane Hugo Hurricane Hugo was a powerful Cape Verde tropical cyclone that inflicted widespread damage across the northeastern Caribbean and the Southeastern United States in September 1989. Across its track, Hugo affected approximately 2 million peop ...

in September 1989, which delayed completion of the film until the following year. Distribution of film then languished for several years, until Azimi cut his wrist in front of officials of the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...

.See : "However, it then remained undistributed until an incident in which writer-director Azimi slashed his wrists in front of French Ministry of Culture officials".

Plot

1816. After the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

is restored to the French throne. De Rochefort sets sail for

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

on the frigate '' Méduse'', captained by Captain Chaumareys, with the future governor of Senegal and his wife, Julien and Reine Schmaltz, on board. In no time, the atmosphere of the voyage is thick with hatred and mistrust. The tension mounts between the autocratic, incompetent Captain Chaumareys and Coudein, his lieutenant, until one fine day in June, despite Coudein's warnings, the ''Méduse'' is inexplicably wrecked.

Cast

Jean Yanne Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

(Duroy de Chaumareys) *

Daniel Mesguich Daniel Mesguich (born 15 July 1952) is a French actor and director in theater and opera, and professor of stage acting school. Biography In 1970, he was admitted into the Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique, after which he opened ...

(Lt. Jean-Daniel Coudein) *

Alain Macé Alain may refer to: People * Alain (given name), common given name, including list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Alain (surname) * "Alain", a pseudonym for cartoonist Daniel Brustlein * Alain, a standard author abbreviation u ...

(Henri Savigny) *

Claude Jade Claude Marcelle Jorré, better known as Claude Jade (; 8 October 1948 – 1 December 2006), was a French actress. She starred as Christine in François Truffaut's three films '' Stolen Kisses'' (1968), '' Bed and Board'' (1970) and '' Love on th ...

(Reine-Renée Schmaltz) *

Philippe Laudenbach Philippe Laudenbach (born 31 January 1936) is a French actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films since 1963. Career Nephew of Pierre Fresnay (born Peter Laudenbach), Philippe is formed to the French National Academy of Dramatic Arts. He ...

(

Julien-Désiré Schmaltz Colonel Julien-Désiré Schmaltz or Julien Schmaltz (5 February 1771 – 26 June 1826) was a French colonial administrator and governor of Senegal from 1816 to 1820. Early life and career Julien-Désiré Schmaltz was born in 1771 in Lorient; the so ...

) *Michel Baumann (

Alexandre Corréard Alexandre Corréard (8 October 1788 – 16 February 1857) was a French engineer and geographer. He graduated from the engineering school Arts et Métiers ParisTech. He is known for escaping the French frigate ''Méduse'' shipwreck and working wit ...

) *

Victor Garrivier The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

(Antoine Richefort) *

Laurent Terzieff Laurent Terzieff (27 June 1935, in Toulouse – 2 July 2010, in Paris) was a French actor. Biography Terzieff was the son of French ceramist Théodore Géricault Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault (; 26 September 1791 – 26 January 1824) was a French painter and lithographer, whose best-known painting is ''The Raft of the Medusa''. Although he died young, he was one of the pioneers of the Romantic ...

) *

Jean Desailly Jean Desailly (24 August 1920 – 11 June 2008) was a French actor. He was a member of the Comédie-Française from 1942 to 1946, and later participated in about 90 movies. Life and career Desailly studied at the École nationale supérieure des ...

(La Tullaye) *

Rufus Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin ''rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus Al ...

(Soldier Musician)

References

Works Cited

External links

* * 1994 films 1994 drama films French drama films Films about survivors of seafaring accidents or incidents Seafaring films based on actual events Films set in the 1810s 1990s French films {{1990s-France-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

Works Cited

External links