''The Return of the Musketeers, or The Treasures of Cardinal Mazarin'' (russian: Возвращение мушкетёров, или Сокровища кардинала Мазарини, translit=Vozvrashchenie mushketyorov, ili Sokrovishcha kardinala Mazarini) is a 2009 Russian

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Georgi Yungvald-Khilkevich Georgi Emilyevich Yungvald-Khilkevich (russian: Георгий Эмильевич Юнгвальд-Хилькевич; 22 October 1934 – 11 November 2015) was a Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, theatre direc ...

Plot

The film begins with the final scene of '' The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later'', an 1847-1850 novel by

Alexander Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer. ...

. The musketeers

Aramis René d'Herblay, alias Aramis, is a fictional character in the novels ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844), ''Twenty Years After'' (1845), and ''The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' (1847-1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers, Atho ...

and

Porthos Porthos, Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds is a fictional character in the novels ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844), ''Twenty Years After'' (1845), and ''The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' (1847-1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other ...

are killed in a fight against royal guardsmen. After sensing their deaths,

Athos Athos may refer to: Fictional or mythical characters * Athos (character), one of the title characters in the novel ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844) by Alexandre Dumas père * Athos (mythology), one of the Gigantes in Greek mythology * Athos Fadiga ...

commits suicide by poisoning himself in his own estate. While serving in the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...

as commander of the royal troops,

d'Artagnan Charles de Batz de Castelmore (), also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan ( 1611 – 25 June 1673), was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the Fra ...

eventually becomes a

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...

as it was predicted by Athos at the

Siege of La Rochelle The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627–28. The siege marked the height of the struggle between the Catholics and the ...

, but is killed by a cannonball at the Siege of Maastricht after barely getting the cherished

baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conductin ...

. The friends, who had hitherto been invincible and inseparable, suddenly die in one day. At this point, a total muddle reigns inside France. In the Parliament, fierce debates rage over the stealing from the treasury, for which

Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

, who secretly left France with the royal treasure, is truly responsible. Yet, the Parliament and the people find Queen

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 unti ...

, a lover of Mazarin, guilty. As her honor's defenders are no longer alive, the queen feels an urgent need to find new ones. Those are the musketeers' children—Jacqueline the daughter of d'Artagnan, Raul the son of Athos, Henry the son of Aramis, and Angelica the daughter of Porthos. The captain of the Royal Guards, Leon, initially stands against the formed quartet, until he finds out he is the son of Porthos. After the death of Cardinal Mazarin in England, his treasure passes to the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

along with the Templar Ring that grants

immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

in accordance with the legends. When the young heroes try to take back the wealth belonging to France and its queen, they are taken prisoner, while Raul is killed in an unequal skirmish. The souls of their fathers excitedly and powerlessly observe their children's adventures before a sincere

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

by d'Artagnan returns them to earth, giving a chance to save the descendants and the queen's honor. The sworn enemy of d'Artagnan, the guardsman de Jussac, revives along with them and also seeks the treasure. As a result, the children are back together with their parents, the treacherous Jesuits are defeated and the queen's honor has finally been retained. Nevertheless, the musketeers refuse to use the retrieved Templar Ring and choose to stay together in the

otherworld The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherworld ...

Cast

Mikhail Boyarsky Mikhail Sergeyevich Boyarsky (russian: Михаи́л Серге́евич Боя́рский; born 26 December 1949 in Leningrad) is a Soviet and Russian actor and singer. He is best known for playing swashbucklers in historical adventure films; ...

Veniamin Smekhov Veniamin Borisovich Smekhov (russian: Вениами́н Бори́сович Сме́хов; born August 10, 1940 in Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor and director. He was the winner of the Petropol Award (2000) as well as the ...

Igor Starygin Igor Vladimirovich Starygin (Russian:''Игорь Владимирович Старыгин'', 13 June 1946 in Moscow – 8 November 2009 in Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. An alumnus of the Russian Academy of Theatre Ar ...

(voice

Igor Yasulovich Igor Nikolayevich Yasulovich (russian: Игорь Николаевич Ясулович; born 24 September 1941) is a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor, film director and pedagogue. Biography Yasulovich was born in the village of Reinsfe ...

) *

Valentin Smirnitsky Valentin Georgievich Smirtinsky (russian: Валентин Георгиевич Смирнитский; born 10 June 1944 in Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. People's Artist of Russia (2005). Filmography * '' Walking the Stre ...

Alisa Freindlich Alisa Brunovna Freindlich (russian: Алиса Бруновна Фрейндлих, born 8 December 1934 in Leningrad, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian actress. People's Artist of the USSR (1981). Since 1983, Freindlich has been a leading ac ...

Dmitry Kharatyan Dmitry Vadimovich Kharatyan (born 21 January 1960) is a Soviet and Russian actor of Armenian descent, People's Artist of Russia. Was born in Olmaliq, Uzbek SSR on 21 January 1960. His debut as an actor came in Vladimir Menshov's ''Practical Jok ...

King Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

Aleksandr Shirvindt Aleksandr Anatolyevich Shirvindt (russian: Александр Анатольевич Ширвиндт, born July 19, 1934) is a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, screenwriter and voice actor. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1989). Since 2000 ...

as Colbert *

Lyanka Gryu Lyanka Georgievna Gryu (russian: Ля́нка Гео́ргиевна Гры́у, ro, Leanca Gheorghievna Grâu; born 22 November 1987) is a Russian theater and film actress. Biography Lyanka Gryu was born in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union ...

as Jacqueline, daughter of d'Artagnan *

Evgeniya Kryukova Evgeniya Vladislavovna Kryukova (russian: Евге́ния Владисла́вовна Крю́кова) is a Soviet and Russian film and theater actress. Biography and career Evgeniya Kryukova was born in 1971 into a family of engineers. After ...

Louise de La Vallière Françoise ''Louise'' de La Vallière, Duchess of La Vallière and Vaujours, born Françoise Louise de La Baume Le Blanc de La Vallière, Mademoiselle de La Vallière (6 August 1644 – 7 June 1710) was a French noblewoman and the first mistress ...

*Danila Dunayev as Raul, son of Athos *Irina Pegova as Angelica, daughter of Porthos *

Dmitry Nagiyev Dmitry Vladimirovich Nagiyev (russian: Дмитрий Владимирович Нагиев, born April 4, 1967) is a Russian actor, TV-host, musician, showman and radio host. In 1991, graduated from the Leningrad State Institute Of Theater, Musi ...

as Leon, son of Porthos *Anton Makarsky as Anri, son of Aramis * Anatoly Ravikovitch as

Vladimir Balon Vladimir Yakovlevich Balon (russian: Владимир Яковлевич Балон; February 23, 1937,Фехтование: энциклопедия: А-Я / Федерация фехтования России; авт.-сост. М. Ракита ...

as de Jussac *Vitaly Alshansky as Jermen

Production

Initial filming began on 15 June 2007 in the Ukrainian village of Fontanka, situated in the close proximity to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

. Filming later took place in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi ( uk, Бі́лгород-Дністро́вський, Bílhorod-Dnistróvskyy, ; ro, Cetatea Albă), historically known as Akkerman ( tr, Akkerman) or under different names, is a city, municipality and port situated on ...

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

Svirzh Svirzh may refer to: Geography * Svirzh (Desna), tributary of Desna * Svirzh (Dnieper), tributary of Dnieper Places * Svirzh, Lviv Oblast, village in Lviv Raion **Svirzh Castle Svirz Castle ( uk, Свірзький замок, Svirz'kyi zamok, ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and

Saint Peterburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. The production involved about 1,200 people, including extras.

Release

''The Return of the Musketeers'' premiered at the Oktyabr Cinema in Moscow on 4 February 2009. A longer

director's cut A director's cut is an edited version of a film (or video game, television episode, music video, or commercial) that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit in contrast to the theatrical release. "Cut" explicitly refers to the ...

version was broadcast on Channel One on 4 November 2009.

Reception

The film received mostly negative reviews. It holds 2.7 out of 10 at

KinoPoisk Kinopoisk (russian: Кинопоиск, a portmanteau of "cinema" and "search") is a Russian online database of information related to films, TV shows including cast, production team, biographies, plot summaries, ratings, and reviews. Since 2018 ...

. The film critic Alex Exler noted that the film looks like a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

on the previous ''Musketeers'' films and is "so miserable and awful that it is even worth watching—such an explosion of brains is rarely seen".

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Return Of The Musketeers, Or The Treasures Of Cardinal Mazarin, The 2009 films 2000s musical comedy films Cultural depictions of Cardinal Mazarin Cultural depictions of Louis XIV Films based on The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later Films scored by Maksim Dunayevsky Films set in the 17th century Films shot in Moscow Films shot in Saint Petersburg Films shot in Ukraine 2000s Russian-language films Russian swashbuckler films Russian musical comedy films