The Princess of Montpensier

"Love. Conflict. Betrayal."

2010 2h 19m FR

😐

6.3

MID

🍅

85%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 278🍅85%Rotten Tomatoes●78Metacritic★6.5IMDB · 4,331

ActionDramaHistoryRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Set in the high courts of 16th Century France, where the wars of religion between Catholics and Protestants are raging. Marie de Mézières, a beautiful young aristocrat, is in love with Henri de Guise, but her hand in marriage is promised to the Prince of Montpensier.

“Love. Conflict. Betrayal.”

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Where to watch · US

PhiloSubscription

AMC+ Amazon ChannelSubscription

France Channel Amazon ChannelSubscription

Cast

Mélanie Thierry
Marie de Montpensier
Lambert Wilson
François de Chabannes
Gaspard Ulliel
Henri de Guise
Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet
Philippe de Montpensier
Raphaël Personnaz
Le Duc d'Anjou
Michel Vuillermoz
Le Duc de Montpensier
Philippe Magnan
Le Marquis de Mézières
Florence Thomassin
La Marquise de Mézières

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Bertrand Tavernier
Writers: Bertrand Tavernier, Jean Cosmos, François-Olivier Rousseau
Languages: French
Countries: France, Germany, Belgium

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 46% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 16 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, Germany, Belgium.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Bertrand Tavernier, shot by Bruno de Keyzer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Philippe Sarde. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sophie Brunet shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Mélanie Thierry and Lambert Wilson and Gaspard Ulliel carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Love. Conflict. Betrayal.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Bertrand Tavernier directs. Bruno de Keyzer behind the camera. Philippe Sarde scores. Sophie Brunet cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in France, Germany, Belgium. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 46% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 16 years ago.
3International production across 3 countries: France, Germany, Belgium.
4Directed by Bertrand Tavernier, shot by Bruno de Keyzer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Philippe Sarde. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Sophie Brunet shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Mélanie Thierry and Lambert Wilson and Gaspard Ulliel carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Love. Conflict. Betrayal.".
9IMDB entry: tt1599975 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 10 themes, including "princess", "mask", "infidelity", "france".

The technical file

Cinematography: Bruno de Keyzer
Original score: Philippe Sarde
Editing: Sophie Brunet
Production design: Guy-Claude François
Costume design: Caroline de Vivaise
Runtime: 139 min · 2h 19m
Status: Released
Budget: $14,734,000
Box office: $6,775,121
Return: 46% of budget
Original language: FR
Certification (US): 12
IMDB: The Princess of Montpensier (2010)
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 78/100
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 4,331 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

2 wins & 9 nominations

César Award for Best Costume Design

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Bertrand Tavernier

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-04-11
★ 7/10
Set amidst the intrigues of Catherine de Medici's French court, this follows the young "Marie" (Mélanie Thierry) who is set to marry "Henri" (Gaspard Ulliel) from the powerful Guise family when her father does a deal and promises her to "Philippe" (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet) instead. This sets the families Guise and Montpensier at each other's throats and leaves her in a loveless marriage with a man she doesn't even know, much less like. Meantime, the chivalrous "Chabannes" (Lambert Wilson) has had enough of the brutalities of war, deserted his post, and is returning home when a very timely intervention from "Philippe" - his pupil of many years ago - saves his life and takes him to the castle where "Marie" is now living. She's a bright and intelligent woman and with her husband now sent off to fight, "Chabannes" is charged with being her tutor too. She is a quick learner and is soon aware of just how to play her own game in a world where manipulation - especially at the hands of the Duc D'Anjou (Raphaêl Personnaz) is the only law to be reckoned with. What now ensues is a typical period adventure with treachery, lust, romance, swordplay and it offers us a good looking, if a bit of a light and fluffy, look at the politics in a 16th century France beset with wars between Huguenots and Catholics and ruled by a succession of the queen's weak and indecisive sons. It's got the look of a television movie and the actors seem largely - Thierry and Wilson notwithstanding - to have been selected on eye candy value, but it's genre I like and in the spirit of Alexandre Dumas it's quite an enjoyable historical costume drama that I quite liked.

Production companies