''Farewell, My Queen'' () is a 2012 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Benoît Jacquot Benoît Jacquot (; born 5 February 1947) is a French film director and screenwriter who has had a varied career in European cinema. In July 2024, Jacquot was charged with rape, including of a minor, and was barred from directing and having cont ...

and based on the novel of the same name by Chantal Thomas, who won the ''

Prix Femina The Prix Femina is a French List of literary awards, literary prize awarded each year by an exclusively female jury. The prize, which was established in 1904, is awarded to French-language works written in prose or Verse (poetry), verse by male ...

'' in 2002. It gives a fictional account of the last days of

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

in power seen through the eyes of Sidonie Laborde, a young servant who reads aloud to the queen. The film stars

Diane Kruger Diane Kruger (; Heidkrüger; ; born 15 July 1976) is a German actress. Early in her career, she gained worldwide recognition and received the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival. Kruger became known for her roles in films such as ...

as the Queen,

Léa Seydoux Léa Hélène Seydoux-Fornier de Clausonne (; born 1 July 1985) is a French actress. Prolific in both French cinema and Cinema of the United States, Hollywood, she has received five César Award nominations, two Lumière Awards, a Palme d'Or a ...

, and

Virginie Ledoyen Virginie Fernández (born 15 November 1976), known by her stage name Virginie Ledoyen (), is a French actress. She has appeared in French, English and American films. Life and career Ledoyen was born in Paris and raised in Aubervilliers, the da ...

. It opened the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012 and has subsequently been screened at other festivals. It was released on 21 March 2012 in France.

Plot

In 1789, on the eve of the French Revolution, the court at the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

still live their routines, relatively unconcerned by the increasing turmoil in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

a mere twenty miles away. The routines are seen through the eyes of the young Sidonie Laborde, who serves Queen

. When news about the

storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille ( ), which occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, was an act of political violence by revolutionary insurgents who attempted to storm and seize control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison k ...

reaches the Court, most

aristocrats Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

and servants desert the Palace and abandon the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

, fearing that the government is falling. But Sidonie, a true believer in the monarchy, refuses to flee. She feels secure under the protection of the royal family. She does not know these are the last three days she will spend by the queen's side. The queen orders Sidonie to disguise herself as Yolande Martine Gabrielle de Polastron, Duchess of Polignac, and serve as bait so that the latter can safely flee to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. This Sidonie does, despite a prior warning from one of the queen's

ladies-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but ...

. Sidonie is stripped naked and then redressed in a green gown. The coach carrying Sidonie is also occupied by the real duchess and her husband, dressed as her servants. They treat her with disdain during the journey but she plays her role convincingly enough to enable the party to safely cross the border. As the film ends, she remarks that she has no connections other than her position as reader to the queen, and soon she will be a nobody.

Cast

as Sidonie Laborde *

as Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France *

as Gabrielle de Polastron, duchesse de Polignac *

Xavier Beauvois Xavier Beauvois (; born 20 March 1967) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter. Career His film '' Don't Forget You're Going to Die'' was entered into the 1995 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize. His film '' Of Gods an ...

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

* Grégory Gadebois as Louis, comte de Provence * Francis Leplay as Charles, comte d'Artois *

Noémie Lvovsky Noémie Lvovsky (; born 14 December 1964) is a French film director, screenwriter, and actress. She is best known for directing ''Camille Rewinds and Life Doesn't Scare Me,'' and for her roles in ''My Wife Is an Actress, House of Tolerance, Sum ...

as Jeanne-Louise-Henriette Campan * Vladimir Consigny as Paolo * Julie-Marie Parmentier as Honorine * Michel Robin as Nicolas Moreau *

Lolita Chammah Lolita Chammah (born 1 October 1983) is a French actress. Background Chammah is the daughter of Ronald Chammah (of Syrian Jewish origin), and Isabelle Huppert. She grew up in Paris and had her first roles during childhood. Lolita Chammah has ...

as Louison * Marthe Caufman as Alice * Jacques Boudet as Monsieur de la Tour du Pin * Martine Chevallier as Madame de la Tour du Pin *

Jacques Nolot Jacques Nolot (; born 31 August 1943) is a French actor, screenwriter and film director. Life and career Jacques Nolot was born on 31 August 1943, Marciac, Gers, a small village in Southwest France. A fragile child, Nolot was doted upon by his ...

as Monsieur de Jolivet * Serge Renko as Marquis de la Chesnaye *

Anne Benoît Anne Benoît is a French actress. She has appeared in more than 60 film and television productions since 1981. Career Benoît was trained at the Conservatoire de Versailles, under the direction of Marcelle Tassencourt. She later attended the Ta ...

Rose Bertin Marie-Jeanne "Rose" Bertin (2 July 1747, Abbeville, Picardy, France – 22 September 1813, Épinay-sur-Seine) was a French fashion merchant and businesswoman. She was particularly noted for her work with Queen Marie Antoinette. Bertin was t ...

* Dominique Reymond as Madame de Rochereuil * Jean-Chrétien Sibertin-Blanc as Monsieur de Polignac *

Jacques Herlin Jacques Herlin (17 August 1927 – 7 June 2014) was a French character actor of stage, film, and television. Early life and education Born as Jacques de Jouette in Le Vésinet, France, Jacques Herlin grew up in Toulon and moved to Paris in 1951 ...

as Marquis de Vaucouleurs *

Pierre Rochefort Pierre Rochefort (born 1981) is a French actor and singer. He is the son of Jean Rochefort and Nicole Garcia. At the age of five, he appeared in the 1986 short film ''15 août'' which was directed by his mother. In 2005, he made his foray into m ...

as Le valet Antonin

Production

''Farewell, My Queen'' was directed by

and based on a script by him, Chantal Thomas, and Gilles Taurand. They adapted the script from the novel of the same name by Thomas. She won the ''

'' for her book in 2002. After reading Chantal's feminist novel, Jacquot wanted to create a film from this perspective. German actress

was cast as

. Recognizing that many audience members had preconceptions of Marie Antoinette, Kruger approached the role by "trying not to judge her... We have the same origins, the same age. I could relate to her as a woman." Even though

was younger than the age of the ''lectrice'' character in the novel, Jacquot cast her as Laborde because "she brought this carnal dimension. She has incontrovertible sex appeal." Jacquot also added to the plot the same-sex relationship between the queen and the Duchess of Polignac; he thought it might be possible, given women's strong relationships with each other in that time period.

Release

The film opened the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012. It was later shown at the

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

(19 April) and the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Film Festival (27 April) and as part of the L'Alliance Française French Film Festival, in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, in March 2013. ''Farewell, My Queen'' opened in theaters in France on 21 March 2012, and was released on a limited basis to American theaters on 13 July 2012.

Reception

''Farewell, My Queen'' holds a rating of 67/100 on

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. Several reviewers compared the film to

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola ( , ; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola, won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Lion, and a Can ...

's 2006 production, ''

''. IndieWire's Anne Thompson believed it was "an intimate and sexy period spectacle that takes us backstage at Versailles and into territory Sofia Coppola was not willing to go." Deborah Young of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' called ''Farewell, My Queen'' a "visual joy, even while its tale of a lower class girl at court infatuated with the Queen of France labors to say something relevant. Though director Benoit Jacquot opts for the grand European style of ''

Girl with a Pearl Earring ''Girl with a Pearl Earring'' () is an oil painting by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer, dated 1665. Going by various names over the centuries, it became known by its present title towards the end of the 20th century because of the e ...

'' rather than a modernist rereading à la Sofia Coppola's

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

vision ''Marie Antoinette'', the film has its own charm, a matter-of-fact treatment of lesbianism and 'magnifique' costumes and settings guaranteed to please

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

patrons, all of which suggests a wide art-house release for this lavish French-Spanish coprod." Writing for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', Geoffrey Macnab said that the director "doesn't have any grand political statements to make. He is not trying to make a sweeping

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

either. His approach is more like that of an anthropologist, studying a tribe in its death throes. The result is quietly fascinating."

Manohla Dargis Manohla June Dargis ( ) is an American film critic. She is the chief film critic for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Career Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', Dargis ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' describes Jacquot's film as a "tense, absorbing, pleasurably original look at three days in the life and lies of a doomed monarch..." Dargia, Manohla (12 July 2012)
"As the Bastille Falls, Gossip in Versailles"
''

''. Retrieved 20 August 2012. She suggests that Jacquot adopted his addition of the lesbian relationship from virulent political pamphlets of the time attacking the queen.

Justin Chang Justin Choigee Chang is an American film critic and columnist currently working at ''The New Yorker''. He previously worked for '' Variety'' and for ''Los Angeles Times''. His 2023 reviews at the ''Times'' won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Critici ...

, the critic of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine wrote, "Benoit Jacquot's venom-tipped account of palatial intrigue and royal oblivion scrupulously maintains a servant's-eye view but winds up holding the viewer at an unrewarding distance. Cast names should lend the picture some Euro arthouse traction, though Stateside biz won't far exceed that of Jacquot's recent work." While Chang criticized the characterization and depiction of Seydoux's character Sidonie Laborde, he praised Kruger's projection of "regal desperation" as well as Ledoyen's performance as the duchess.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Farewell My Queen 2012 films 2012 drama films 2012 biographical drama films 2010s historical drama films 2012 LGBTQ-related films 2010s French-language films French biographical drama films French historical drama films French LGBTQ-related films French Revolution films Films about Marie Antoinette Cultural depictions of Louis XVI Films based on French novels Films directed by Benoît Jacquot Films set in 1789 Films shot in France 2010s LGBTQ-related drama films Louis Delluc Prize winners Films scored by Bruno Coulais 2010s French films Ad Vitam (company) films Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography César Award Films shot at the Palace of Versailles