Film Forum

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.  Xavier Giannoli’s deft, au courant adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s sprawling novel of social-climbing and artistic compromise reminds us that the thorny entanglements of art, commerce, and media are centuries-old.  This sumptuous, satirical romp that “plays with all the brio and jeopardy of a modern-day gangster movie” (Variety) — is replete with both the opulence and grittiness of 19th-century Paris. Fake news and “pay for play” are familiarly pervasive, though sexier and funnier than today’s version -- and not a little soul-pricking, since the culprits are lefty journalists and a doe-eyed, underdog poet-protagonist (SUMMER OF 85’s Benjamin Voisin). Our hero’s journey begins with a quest for love and pure art, then ascends steeply to heights of notoriety, fortune, and debauchery, and then… What goes up must come down. 

Presented with support from the Ada Katz Fund for Literature in Film

2021    150 MIN.   FRANCE    IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES    MUSIC BOX FILMS

Reviews

Critic’s Pick. “SENSATIONAL.Honoré de Balzac’s novel of Parisian literary life, stands as a stellar example in its period and now, thanks to Xavier Giannoli’s invigorating screen adaptation, in ours as well… This movie will become a touchstone and cult object among the grasping, scheming denizens of the current media jungle. LOST ILLUSIONS is sensational."– A.O.Scott, The New York Times

"Period-drama perfection. Acted with such terrific panache that not enjoying it is impossible.”– Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

"Balzac’s masterpiece. (A) sumptuous and surprisingly au courant cinematic retelling. This sweeping period drama may be up to its eyeballs in costumes and carriages, but it plays with all the brio and jeopardy of a modern-day gangster movie, featuring hack journalists as its antiheroes. The opera sequence should make you squirm… (at) the snake pit of Parisian aristocracy. Accomplishes one of French literature’s trickier feats, finding uncanny resonances  with our time. There’s nothing new about fake news, and it may shock today’s audiences to learn just how powerful –  and how corrupt – the media was two centuries ago.”– Peter Debruge, Variety

“With stellar performances, dramatic orchestral score, and rich costume and set design. A worthwhile, sweeping narrative of love, lust and literary ambition. Giannoli constructs a magnificently chaotic Paris.”– Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter