On Guard

Alexandre Dumas made a reputation for himself writing stories chiefly about the uncommon man who had to rise to the occasion in extraordinary circumstances. Arguably, THE THREE MUSKETEERS and THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO stand as some of the best literature of the ages, and the film adaptations have created some of the most incredibly swordplay put to the silver screen.

The little heard of and rarely seen ON GUARD ("Le Bossu," 1997, from the French novel by Paul Feval of the same name), by far, features some of the most exciting swordplay with a story that compares to Dumas' best work in many ways.

Daniel Auteuil stars as Lagardere, a budding swordsman who can't back down from a fight. One evening, upon trying to best the Duke of Nevers, he inadvertently falls into the duke's good graces and joins him -- as a sidekick -- on a journey to rescue the man's infant daughter, Aurore. However, as the duke is soon murdered by his villainous cousin Count Gonzague (played with ample creepiness by Fabrice Luchini), Lagardere escapes with the infant and, along with the help of a traveling circus, raises her as his own child for sixteen years ... until Aurore takes up the sword and performs a move only her real father could've known, alerting the now-in-power Gonzague to the fact the the daughter has survived. Now, Legardere is faced with the ultimate challenge of devising a masterful plot to put the woman back on the throne and into her position of prominence!

Much of the film is pure plotting and humor, some of which can only be the product of the French ("Ever try sodomy, my friend?"), and I'm quite certain several of the jokes might be lost on an American audience. Still, Auteuil as Lagardere is the film's masterful stroke; he proves himself capable of a Musketeer-like defender, a loving father, and a pining lost soulmate to the lovely Aurore, all the while maintaining his sense of duty coupled with a great sense of humor.

The film is presented widescreen, filmed on beautiful locations, and the sound is very crisp and vibrant. ON GUARD is a wonderful adaptation that deserves to be discovered by a much larger audience.

De Broca, who had made the marvelous swashbuckler CARTOUCHE (1962), returns to the genre after 35 years with this unexpectedly old-fashioned and highly entertaining romp.

Daniel Auteil is the unlikely hero, who is also called on to show his versatility as an actor by dressing up as the titular character. He's supported by a good cast: Vincent Perez as a womanizing aristocrat, Fabrice Luchini as a somewhat reticent villain and Philippe Noiret as a Regent; lovely Marie Gillain is Auteil's improbable love interest (she was raised by him after being saved from death's clutches).

The film's theatrical milieu brings forth obvious comparisons with SCARAMOUCHE (1952) but the sumptuous décor, Philippe Sarde's rousing score and a plot-packed narrative keep one watching. In fact, it was so well-received at the time of its release as to be nominated for several international film awards!

De Broca is a distinguished French film-maker but, unfortunately, very little of his early work is available for reassessment; I've only watched 5 myself (including this one) and all proved to be well worth watching.

ON GUARD delivers. Better than almost all other French swordplay films, this film version of the Paul Féval novel 'Le Bossu' has been aptly adapted for the screen by de Broca, Jean Cosmos, and Jérôme Tonnerre and under Phillipe de Broca's keen eye for detail and entertainment it effervesces on the screen.

The story is solid but predictable: a young swordsman Lagardère (a brilliant Daniel Auteuil) falls into the service of the Duke of Nevers (Vincent Perez in a dashing role) to recover the Duke's daughter Aurore (Marie Gillain). But the evil Gonzague (Fabrice Luchini) kills the Duke and the remainder of the non-stop romance involves the revenge and eventual love story of Lagardère and Aurore.

de Broca's style is lushly authentic for the period yet he manages to always infuse his story with light touches of comedy, lush lighting and spectacular photography. The cast is uniformly excellent. This is one of those 'escapist movies' that is bound to entertain and please even the most critical audience! In French with English subtitles. Recommended. Grady Harp

If you want to escape from the world Le Bossu is a brilliant holiday.

The subtitles are badly done as usual - give us Literal Translations please - we are not idiots!

The story is a great romping swashbuckler that would make Errol Flynn proud. Perez and Autiel are especially good but the man that steals it is Fabrice Lucini - his voice would give anyone a lesson in French and he is very funny and diabolical - he should be a massive star.

This film rollocks along and just shows you don't need complex plots to have a great movie - once again Hollywood scriptwriters - read it and weep... The French and the British are the only ones that can truly do justice to this sort of film.

Not a deep film in any sense but a magnificently entertaining one nevertheless. Witty and fast-paced, it bears comparison with the highly popular 'Taxi' films. Probably my favourite French film in terms of the sheer pleasure it has given me.

Set in the France of Louis XIV and the Regency which followed his death c.1699 - c.1720, it contains a fair degree of historical accuracy. Philippe d'Orleans, Regent of France (Philippe Noiret) has a central role as the arbiter of justice who ultimately allows good to triumph over evil. This is an unabashedly romantic view of absolutist France and one should not delve too deeply into the world that is recreated here. Like Robin Hood movies, the historical backcloth provides the setting for a good swashbuckle with an underdog hero eventually triumphing over a high-born villain against all the odds.

The later plot revolves around the Louisiana scheme which saw fortunes won and lost in an early example of stock market speculation - a French equivalent of the British South Sea Bubble.

It is also a buddy movie with the main hero (Daniel Auteuil) striking up a friendship across the class barrier with the Duc de Nevers who reveals the secret Nevers sword thrust, a leitmotif which starts and ends the film and helps the (19-year?) time span hang together.

Never's scheming cousin murders him in order to inherit his fortune and the film quickly turns into a revenge movie. Auteuil saves Nevers' baby girl and heir and plots to topple the villain and to restore her to her rightful place.

Towards the end the film becomes heavily romantic and reviewers have questioned the plausibility of the resulting relationship. It is perhaps the weakest part of the plot.

The catchy score helps the film to bowl along in a relatively light-hearted way. Despite a lot of villainy and murder, the film's main tenor is one of unremitting fun. Were it being acted out on stage it would almost be a farce. Simply wonderful!