Farewell, My Queen
| Farewell, My Queen | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Benoît Jacquot |
| Produced by | Jean-Pierre Guérin Kristina Larsen |
| Screenplay by |
Benoît Jacquot Gilles Taurand |
| Based on |
Les Adieux à la reine by Chantal Thomas |
| Starring |
Diane Kruger Léa Seydoux Virginie Ledoyen Noémie Lvovsky |
| Music by | Bruno Coulais |
| Cinematography | Romain Winding |
| Edited by | Luc Barnier Nelly Ollivault |
| Distributed by | Ad Vitam Distribution |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | France Spain |
| Language | French |
| Budget | $7.5 million |
| Box office | $5 million |
Farewell, My Queen (French: Les Adieux à la reine) is a 2012 French drama film directed by Benoît Jacquot and based on the novel of the same name by Chantal Thomas, who won the Prix Femina in 2002. It gives a fictional account of the last days of Marie Antoinette in power seen through the eyes of Sidonie Laborde, a young servant who reads aloud to the queen. The film stars Diane Kruger as the Queen, Léa Seydoux, and Virginie Ledoyen.
It opened the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012 and has subsequently been screened at other festivals. Its release date was 21 March 2012 in France.
In 1789, on the eve of the French Revolution, the court at the Palace of Versailles still live their routines, relatively unconcerned by the increasing turmoil in Paris a mere twenty miles away. The routines are seen through the eyes of the young Sidonie Laborde, who serves Queen Marie Antoinette.
When news about the storming of the Bastille reaches the Court, most aristocrats and servants desert the Palace and abandon the Royal Family, 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. This Sidonie does, despite a prior warning from one of the Queen's ladies in waiting. 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.
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