Georges Azenstarck

The Marriage of Figaro, an adaptation of Beaumarchais' play, depicts a veritable social and romantic battle on the day of Figaro and Susanna's wedding, as Count Almaviva attempts to seduce the young woman despite her impending marriage. Throughout this eventful day, servants and masters clash in a game of intrigue, disguises, letters, and misunderstandings, each trying to thwart the other's plans. Figaro, cunning and determined, refuses to be humiliated, while Susanna and the Countess join forces to foil the Count's intentions. Around them gravitate Cherubino, Basilio, Bartolo, Antonio, and Marcellina, who further complicate the plot by adding jealousies, misunderstandings, and unexpected twists. Little by little, the Count's manipulations are exposed, and the women play a decisive role in the denouement.

Three episodes from the history of socialism: Babeuf, whose virulent discourse is a radical assessment of the bourgeois revolution of 1789 (Vincent Nordon episode); the legend of Napoleon I, or the formation of the state as it still dominates today (François Barat episode); and the carnage of the Paris Commune, which official history strives to repress and forget (Joël Farges episode). What does it mean to make a historical film today? It means illuminating the present in the light of the past, and therefore adopting the new modes of modern storytelling to challenge what dominates us, structures us, and oppresses us.