The Rose of Versailles is the first anime movie of Riyoko Ikeda's beyond iconic manga series. It was previously adapted as an equally iconic anime series in 1979, as well as a line of stage musicals by the revered all-female Takarazuka Revue. Jacques Demy adapted it into a live-action movie, Lady Oscar, also in 1979, while another anime movie was announced in 2007, but it never got off the ground. That's quite a pedigree, there. Let's see how this iteration is.
In May 1770, Princess Marie Antoinette of Austria arrives in Paris to meet her future husband, the eventual King Louis XVI. On her arrival, she also meets her bodyguard Oscar François de Jarjayes, the Captain of the Royal Guards. It's an open secret that Oscar is actually a girl raised as a boy. See, her general dad wanted a son, but after so many daughters, decided to make do with her. That plot point isn't elaborated on in this movie. Anyway, everyone's fine with Oscar being Captain, so all's good right?
Nope. Once the Dauphin and Dauphine ascend, their extravagant lifestyles, especially Marie-Antoinette's, bankrupt the common folks. Despite her luxuries, Marie-Antoinette feels lonely, and mingles with a visiting Swedish Count, Hans Von Fersen. Needless to say, that affair only craters her reputation further. Oscar, who sympathizes with the peasantry, unsuccessfully tries to get the Queen to listen to reason. Meanwhile, Oscar contends with her growing feelings for her childhood friend, Andre Grandier. She and Andre join the French Guards Regiment, where they both become key players in the French Revolution. Is that it?
It's also a musical, too. The songs, all composed by Hiroyuki Sawano with several lyricists, are mostly presented as music video style montages. They remind me of a typical anime intro, only without any on-screen credits, even during its own intro song. A few other songs are just background music and are often overwhelmed by the foreground sounds. The first crowd song, set at the masquerade ball where Marie-Antoinette meets Hans, is just as catchy as the similar scene in The Phantom of the Opera, even if the singing is a bit quiet. Firebrand Reporter Bernard Châtelet's song is quite memorable because it is the only time, during the entire 115 minutes, that we see a named character break into song on-screen! It's quite a shock, especially since it's right near the end.
The film skims through so much of the manga's story in its runtime. This becomes a problem when Marie-Antoinette brings up her lonely childhood, and her even lonelier marriage, to essentially guilt-trip Oscar. During the first 40 minutes, we see not even a flashback to her previous life, while her French royal life is skimmed during an admittedly catchy song. The Affair of the Necklace is even skimmed over during another montage. King Louis XVI is barely even an entity during that point. Unsurprisingly, I reacted to her story with a simple "ok." All that skimming makes her descent to snobbish royal a bit less tragic. Still, she's not the worse royal in the movie, with that honor going to the real-life Henri de Guéméné.
It gets better once Oscar becomes the focus of the film. Although she also loses some plot details, her stalwart personality and struggles with gender norms make her a compelling character. As it turns out, not everyone is fine with her status, particularly the French Guards, who take quite a while to respect her. In due time, their sexist attitudes dissipate, and they're more than willing to follow her into battle. It's quite cool to see her earn their respect, particularly when she bests the snooty Alain de Soissons in combat. She and Andre have the film's most compelling relationship, by far. It's often melodramatic, but it's still moving when they affirm their love before the final battles, where they fall. Her arranged fiancé, the Count of Girodelle, is pleasantly gracious when he lets her be with Andre after she makes her feelings known. Those unfamiliar with the franchise can easily surmise how and why Oscar became such an iconic character.
Marie gets some nice scenes before she descends into full snobbish royal. First, she advocates for sparing Andre for indirectly nearly getting her killed horseback riding. In another, she affirms her love for Louis XVI when her affair is discovered. That scene is where Louis is first depicted as a character, rather than filler, and he's quite sympathetic there. Both scenes help spare Marie from being the worst royal in the film, even if somewhat. Hans, in case you're wondering, hushes out of the story midway through. Amongst their supporting cast, the best of them is Andre's Grandma, who provides some fun comic relief.
The animation by MAPPA does right for the codifier of manga melodrama. The splendor of pre-revolutionary France is recreated in all of its opulent glory with magnificent production and costume designs. The Masquerade number is not only marvelous to listen to, but it's also marvelous to look at with these visuals. Marie-Antoinette's entrance into Paris is greeted with a glowing welcome parade. Later on, the downcast skies outside Versailles excellently metaphorize the country's declining morality. A few extravagant touches turn Hans and Marie-Antoinette's affair into full-tilt melodrama. It's often goofy, but it's still weirdly captivating all the same. I can go on, but I'd rather you see it for yourself.
I've seen some of Lady Oscar, via YouTube, which I remember being visually meh but dramatically fine. At least one review compared it to Barry Lyndon, but that had some exquisite cinematography. By contrast, The Rose of Versailles is visually spectacular and dramatically good. Its story and musical numbers could have used some work, but we still get some compelling plot points in its narrative. I was interested in enough to stay for the credits, which spells out the fates of the survivors, fictional and real-life. I think it's worth chilling with this unique historical drama. The original series is readily available on streaming and Blu-Ray; why don't you check it out too?
That's it for now.
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