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Children of the Century (2002)
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Reviews Counted:41
Fresh:18
Rotten:23
Average Rating:5.3/10
Consensus: This romance is more soapy than historically compelling.
Theatrical Release:Sep 13, 2002 Limited
Synopsis: A sweepingly romantic and historic tale about two 19th-century writers and their trials in work, travel, and love, CHILDREN OF THE CENTURY is a daring period piece from director Diane Kurys. The... A sweepingly romantic and historic tale about two 19th-century writers and their trials in work, travel, and love, CHILDREN OF THE CENTURY is a daring period piece from director Diane Kurys. The love affair between George Sand (Juliette Binoche) and Alfred de Musset (Benoit Magimel) is brought to life in fits and bursts of creative impulses, passionate interludes, and emotional blowouts. Writers who met in 1833, Sand and de Musset were both well-established in their careers. Sand's feminism, masculine style of dress, and boldness rendered her works utterly readable for their controversy if not their quality. Likewise, de Musset's poetry was highly regarded in literary circles. Unfortunately, Sand was married (to Casimir Dudevant, who she left when she moved to Paris alone) with two children, and so her affair with de Musset--like her fierce independence, liberalism, and frequent romantic trysts--was considered a scandal. But as the story unfolds, Sand remains committed to de Musset even as his words and actions spin rapidly and frightfully out of control. CHILDREN OF THE CENTURY depicts an artistic bloom in Paris and Venice in the mid-1800s, colored by the changing hues of love and grief shared between these two major creative figures. [More]
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Benoit Magimel, Stefano Dionisi, Karin Viard
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Benoit Magimel, Stefano Dionisi, Karin Viard, Isabelle Carré, Patrick Chesnais, Arnaud Giovaninetti, Denis Podalydes, Michel Robin
Director: Diane Kurys
Director: Diane Kurys
Screenwriter: Francois-Olivier Rousseau, Murray Head, Diane Kurys
Producer: Alain Sarde, Diane Kurys
Composer: Luis Bacalov
Studio: Empire Pictures
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Reviews for Children of the Century
Benefits not only from Filac's cinematography but also from the two leads, whose chemistry is immediately apparent.
The emotion is impressively true for being so hot-blooded, and both leads are up to the task.
Now trimmed by about 20 minutes, this lavish three-year-old production has enough grandeur and scale to satisfy as grown-up escapism.
Vividly conveys both the pitfalls and the pleasures of over-the-top love.
Is this love or is it masochism? Binoche makes it interesting trying to find out.
In scope, ambition and accomplishment, Children of the Century ... takes Kurys' career to a whole new level.
one of the best films that showcase a romance within the context of an artistic movement
In between all the emotional seesawing, it's hard to figure the depth of these two literary figures, and even the times in which they lived. But they fascinate in their recklessness.
Whether [Binoche and Magimel] are being charming or angst-ridden, they easily fill their scenes and, fine judges both, never overcook the hysteria.
The film's appeal has a lot to do with the casting of Juliette Binoche as Sand, who brings to the role her pale, dark beauty and characteristic warmth.
The art direction and costumes are gorgeous and finely detailed, and Kurys' direction is clever and insightful.
...the tale of her passionate, tumultuous affair with Musset unfolds as Sand’s masculine persona, with its love of life and beauty, takes form.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
| 53% 53% | David & Layla |
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