Sade (2002)

Synopsis: Benoit Jacquot's SADE is a provocative historical drama set during the French Revolution starring Daniel Auteuil as the notorious Marquis de Sade. The film also stars the striking young actress... Benoit Jacquot's SADE is a provocative historical drama set during the French Revolution starring Daniel Auteuil as the notorious Marquis de Sade. The film also stars the striking young actress Isild Le Besco (Girls Can't Swim) who was nominated for a 2002 French Cesar for Most Promising Newcomer.

1794. The Revolution has entered the bloodiest phase of the Terror, and the Marquis de Sade, despite his pro-revolutionary fervor, is once again in prison. The puritanical Robespierre - who is sending thousands to their deaths - sees this aristocrat-turned-agitator, libertine and atheist as "a highly immoral man" and "unworthy of society," so Sade knows his days may finally be numbered. Sade is soon moved to Picpus, a sanitarium where aristocrats can buy temporary respite from the guillotine. Sade's stay has been arranged by a loyal former mistress (Marianne Denicourt) who sleeps with Fournier (Gregoire Colin), a member of Robespierre's inner circle. Fournier despises Sade but pulls strings to increase the Marquis¹ odds of survival for the sake of the woman he loves.

Although he is shunned by the other inmates, to Sade the new accommodations seem like paradise ("a select society, charming women"), at least until Republican soldiers dig a huge pit into which hundreds of headless bodies are tossed. A guillotine is also erected on the convent grounds, but Sade is more interested in Emilie (Isild Le Besco) the fresh-faced daughter of a Viscount. She is both repelled and attracted to Sade's philosophy of the bedroom. However, as the guillotine looms for them all, she grows determined to experience sensual pleasure before her death. -- © Empire Pictures [More]

Starring: Daniel Auteuil, Marianne Denicourt, Jeanne Balibar, Gregoire Colin

Starring: Daniel Auteuil, Marianne Denicourt, Jeanne Balibar, Gregoire Colin, Maiwenn Le Besco, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Jalil Lespert, Dominique Reymond, Sylvie Testud, Daniel Martin

Director: Benoit Jacquot

Director: Benoit Jacquot
Screenwriter: Jacques Fieschi, Bernard Minoret
Producer: Patrick Godeau
Composer: Francis Poulenc
Studio: Empire Pictures

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