On 20 June 1791 the king and queen of France (Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette) tried to escape from Revolutionary Paris to join monarchist allies outside France, but were arrested in the town of Varennes. The incident inflamed popular distrust and hatred against the monarchy. Linked to this historical event the film imagines a group of travellers on the same road, including the American patriot Thomas Paine, the noted seducer Casanova, the French novelist Restif de La Bretonne, and one of the queen's ladies-in-waiting. They reflect various attitudes toward the momentous changes taking place around them.
| Release Date: | Feb 1983 |
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| Genre: | Drama / History |
| Awards: | 3 wins & 1 nomination |
| Cast: | Jean-Louis Barrault (Nicolas Edmé Restif de la Bretonne), Marcello Mastroianni (Casanova, Chevalier de Seingalt), Hanna Schygulla (Countess Sophie de la Borde), Harvey Keitel (Thomas Paine), Jean-Claude Brialy (Monsieur Jacob), Andréa Ferréol (Madame Adélaïde Gagnon), Michel Vitold (De Florange), Laura Betti (Virginia Capacelli), Enzo Jannacci (Italian clown), Pierre Malet (Emile Delage, student revolutionary), Daniel Gélin (De Wendel), Hugues Quester (Jean-Louis Romeuf), Dora Doll (Nanette Precy), Caterina Boratto (Madame Faustine), Didi Perego (Madame Sauce), Jean-Louis Trintignant (Monsieur Sauce), Michel Piccoli (King Louis XVI), Eléonore Hirt (Marie-Antoinette), Evelyne Dress (Agnès, Restif's daughter), Aline Mess (Marie-Madeleine, Sophie's servant), Patrick Osmond (Major of the National Guard), Jacques Peyrac (Postilion), Claude Legros (Sergeant at St. Menehould), Vernon Dobtcheff (Judge at the confiscation), Ugo Fangareggi (Soldier Bertrand), Yves Collignon (Drouet, the postmaster), Maurice Jacquemont (Innkeeper at Chaintrix), Agnès Nobecourt (Hubertine, Madame Faustine's...), Roger Trapp (Blacksmith at Meaux), Annie Belle (Prostitute with green stockings), Fausto Di Bella (Cook at Auberge du Soleil), Jacques Zanetti (), Antonella Cancellieri (), Robert Nogaret (Beggar at Chaintrix), Bruno Du Louvat (), Noëlle Mesny (), Jeanne Carré (), Anne Tatu (), Albert Michel (), Enrico Bergier () |