finally! Among the rubbish that litters modern cinema, a flower has blossomed, the Fendi flower. The painting by Paul Menno and Vincent Mutiza is an extraordinary one. The fact that such a film was released is surprising. This is not a very common topic in major salons. What is worth emphasizing here is the fact that although we are dealing with a low-budget film, it is practically not noticeable when you are in the cinema. The only exceptions may be some small things, which I will discuss shortly.
where is that. Victory or Death tells the story of the Vendée rebels and one of their prominent leaders – François Athanasi Charette de la Country (played by Hugo Becker). The actor who played Charette, and he wasn't the only one, put his whole heart into the character. I don't see anyone else in this role. Personally, I loved this character.
However, the legendary leader of the Swamp Army was not completely alone in bearing such a huge responsibility, because although no other generals of the uprising appeared alongside him in the film, I will mention them here, because they deserve at least a brief summary. They were mentioned by name, and these were them. Jacques Cathelino, Charles de Beauchamp, Henri de La Rocheclin, and Maurice Delpy.
These are the people we miss today. He who fulfills his oath, even if it is at the cost of death. Someone who would rather fight to the end and die than deny the ideals he professes.
What did the revolutionaries think? They chose the Sacred Heart of Jesus as their banner. This is not very surprising, given the fact that the army was called the Catholic and Royal Army. The image chosen by the Vendées as their emblem remains a very important symbol and is highly respected by French Catholic traditionalists. And not only him, the Vendée rebel anthem is treated similarly – “Les Bleus sont là”, which is not sung on any occasion, and its trivial performances are treated as blasphemous.
The true French treat the banner of the Vendée uprising and the national anthem almost equally with the relics of the saints. These are the French who know their history! For us, the film about the Vendée is also a history lesson.
What can the Vendée teach us Poles? First of all, this film has little in common with the pulp that was presented to us in textbooks, praising the so-called Spring of Nations and the French Revolution. Secondly, we will not see very distant events in it. Underground, guerrilla warfare, amnesty, betrayal, stalking. In addition, cruelty is straight from Volhynia. This was given to the viewer in a safe dose. Doesn't it smell familiar?
Thirdly, there are people who want to rebuild the world and have a ready-made recipe for global happiness. Whoever does not agree with it will be thrown to the scaffold. For us Catholics and monarchists, they do not anticipate a place in the world that they want to create. They want to build a new, better reality on the ruins of our world. There is probably no need to explain to anyone what this “justice” and “happiness” associated with the guillotine emblem (of one kind or another) are, and they probably will be again. We must understand the French genocide like few others.
We are the ones who killed people in cemeteries all over the world, and the ones who tried to wipe them off the face of the earth. We are the ones whose enemies cannot sleep, as long as we exist, and we will continue to exist. At least that's what God wants right now. Vindia we are.
What motivated the Vendées? Were they born heroes or did they die heroes? Historians agree that at first they accepted the ideals of the Revolution well, even wanted to believe in them, but this faith quickly melted. The persecution of the Church and Catholics in France was the main reason for the increasing aversion of the peasants to innovators and happy people. The regicide (the execution of King Louis
The viewer will recognize these key foundations for emerging motivation and resistance, as well as the growth of faith and courage. Disappointment and cruelty – these words sum up the essence of the matter. The cruelty, so carefully handled in the film, is enough to show that the rebels were treated as subhuman, which is reflected in the more sophisticated ways the French are killed by the new, better citizens. Maybe it's a good thing we survived this. If the whole truth had come out, the film would have been filled with blood from the first moment to the last.
In addition to the great characters, there were also smaller fictional characters that served as a background for them. One of these people was named Pfeiffer (played by Olivier Barthelemy), a soldier in the Republican Army, known as Blue, to whom providence presented an unprecedented choice. It was not true that he was a fugitive, because sometimes the Catholic and royal army consisted of them.
He was forcibly recruited into the rebel army. However, throughout the film we will still struggle with the question: Will he betray his restored honor or keep it? This happens every time he appears on screen. This is a really successful treatment and I personally love it. Viewers will get to meet the remaining characters when they go to see the movie, and it's worth doing so.
As for the weak points, because I must also describe them, I will mention three issues. The first is the battle scenes. What budget, what battle scenes. Fortunately, there's no exaggeration the other way and we won't have to try to make up for it all with Hollywood-style special effects. However, I will assert that the battle scenes are not terrible, they are simply right.
The second thing is the slightly shallow and not very complex psychology of the main character. It's mainly about the extremely hasty presentation of his transformation. We don't actually know what led him to eventually join the uprising. Prolonged hesitation suddenly gave way to the decision to join the uprising, and it is not entirely clear why. I missed it a little.
The third drawback of this production is the somewhat sparse religious aspect. We have a priest, there is the Divine Liturgy. Tridentine, there are burials of the dead, crosses can be seen in many places, in theory everything is correct, but there are not enough. Throughout the entire film, we see only one priest who has not taken the oath to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. It is as if this aspect has been neglected.
I thought this production would be rooted in the Catholic world, but he seems to talk about it only casually, like someone who identifies more with the Catholic faith than a devout Catholic. Perhaps this reflects the state of the spirit or the research of the filmmakers themselves. I don't know, but it's still a good sign.
Victor Hugo once wrote: “The Vendée is the wound that brings glory.” This is correct. Throughout the film, we watch a deadly fist of honor, glory, and faith clash with terrorism and a corrupt world that mercilessly “offers” equality, freedom, brotherhood, and even death itself. The only thing we can choose is what kind of death we will die. Will we leave with or without honor?
After this film, the struggle for the freedom of the Catholic faith, that is, for God, and for the restoration of the respect due to the unjust spit on property, that is, for the King, is gaining new strength for some people, and is only beginning to emerge and emerge for others. . We need movies like this and I must admit I was waiting for a movie like this!
You can listen to the national anthem Les Bleus sont là below:
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