Chouan Chouan ("the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution. Par ...

s!'' is a 1988 French historical adventure film directed by

Philippe de Broca Philippe de Broca (; 15 March 1933 – 26 November 2004) was a French movie director. He directed 30 full-length feature films, including the highly successful '' That Man from Rio (''L'Homme de Rio'')'', '' The Man from Acapulco (Le Magnifique) ...

and starring Sophie Marceau,

Philippe Noiret Philippe Noiret (; 1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a French film actor. Life and career Noiret was born in Lille, France, the son of Lucy (Heirman) and Pierre Noiret, a clothing company representative. He was an indifferent student and ...

, and

Lambert Wilson Lambert Wilson (born 3 August 1958) is a French actor, singer and activist. He is best known internationally for his portrayal of The Merovingian in ''The Matrix Reloaded'', ''The Matrix Revolutions'' and ''The Matrix Resurrections''. Biograph ...

. Based on the 1829 novel ''

Les Chouans ''Les Chouans'' (, ''The Chouans'') is an 1829 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) and included in the ''Scènes de la vie militaire'' section of his novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine''. Set in the French ...

'' by

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

, the film is about a woman who must choose between two brothers on opposite sides of the French Civil War of 1793. For her performance in the film, Sophie Marceau received the Cabourg Romantic Film Festival Award for Best Actress.

Plot

In 1793, during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, a young woman named Céline ( Sophie Marceau), who was adopted by Count Savinien de Kerfadec, must choose between two men who have been raised like her brothers, Tarquin Larmor (

) and Aurèle de Kerfadec (

Stéphane Freiss Stéphane Freiss (born 22 November 1960) is a French film, television, and stage actor. He won a César Award for his performance in the 1988 film ''Chouans!''. Selected filmography *'' Premiers désirs'' (1984) *'' Vagabond'' (1985) *''Chou ...

), while they take opposite sides in the conflict. Tarquin, also adopted by the Count, is a partisan of the First French Republic and defends the new political system; Aurèle, the Count's natural son, supports Royalism. Both sons are in love with Céline. After the

French Revolutionary Army The French Revolutionary Army (french: Armée révolutionnaire française) was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1804. These armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipme ...

decimates the Breton people, an insurgency of peasants, clergy, and aristocrats launches a guerrilla war called the

Chouannerie The Chouannerie (from the Chouan brothers, two of its leaders) was a royalist uprising or counter-revolution in twelve of the western ''départements'' of France, particularly in the provinces of Brittany and Maine, against the First Repub ...

Cast

as Savinien de Kerfadec * Sophie Marceau as Céline *

as Tarquin Larmor *

as Aurèle de Kerfadec * Charlotte de Turckheim as Olympe de Saint-Gildas *

Jean-Pierre Cassel Jean-Pierre Cassel (born Jean-Pierre Crochon; 27 October 1932 – 19 April 2007) was a French actor. Early life Cassel was born Jean-Pierre Crochon in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, the son of Louise-Marguerite (née Fabrègue), an opera sin ...

as Baron de Tiffauges * Roger Dumas as Bouchard * Raoul Billerey as Grospierre * Jacqueline Doyen as Adélaïde, l'Abbesse Marie de l'Assomption * Vincent Schmitt as Lote * Claudine Delvaux as Jeanne * Jean Parédès as le Chapelain * Isabelle Gélinas as Viviane * Vincent de Bouard as Yvon * Maxime Leroux as Le Prêtre réfractaire * Luc-Antoine Diquéro as Le Sergent Pierrot * Claude Aufaure as Croque-au-sel * Michel Degand as Le Prêtre jureur

Production

Filming locations

Baden, Morbihan Baden (; br, Baden) is a commune in the Morbihan département in Brittany in northwestern France. Geography Some of the islands of the Gulf of Morbihan fall within the boundaries of the commune. The town is located from Auray and from Vann ...

, France *

Belle Île Belle-Île, Belle-Île-en-Mer, or Belle Isle ( br, Ar Gerveur, ; br, label=Old Breton, Guedel) is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the ''département'' of Morbihan, and the largest of Brittany's islands. It is from the Quiberon peni ...

, Morbihan, France *

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

, France *

Fort-la-Latte Fort la Latte, or the Castle of the Rock Goyon (french: La Roche-Goyon, br, Roc'h-Goueon), is a castle in the northeast of Brittany, about southeast of Cap Fréhel and about west of Saint-Malo, in the ''commune'' of Plévenon, Côtes-d'Armor. ...

, Côtes-d'Armor, France *

Locronan Locronan (; br, Lokorn) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France, with a population of 800. Locronan is a member of the ''Les Plus Beaux Villages de France'' ("The most beautiful villages of France") associa ...

, Finistère, France * Meucon, Morbihan, France * Poul-Fétan, Quistinic, Morbihan, France * Sarzeau, Morbihan, France * Île d'Hoedic,

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastl ...

, France

Awards and nominations

* 1988 Cabourg Romantic Film Festival Award for Best Actress (Sophie Marceau) Won * 1989 César Award for Most Promising Actor (Stéphane Freiss) Won * 1989 César Award Nomination for Best Costume Design (Yvonne Sassinot de Nesle)

References

External links

* * {{Philippe de Broca 1988 films Films set in 1793 Films based on works by Honoré de Balzac Films directed by Philippe de Broca 1980s French-language films French Revolution films Films scored by Georges Delerue 1980s historical films French historical films 1980s French films