Le Mans isn't just the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race, it's also a popular location for many period films, and I'd like to tell you why. Welcome to another episode of Learn French vocabulary with the news, designed to enrich your vocabulary and improve your listening comprehension!
Ideal setting for period films?
Le Mans is a medium-sized city located southwest of Paris. What makes it special is its medieval Plantagenet city, one of the most beautiful in France. It boasts a collection of historic buildings dating back to the Middle Ages and Renaissance, with cobbled streets, half-timbered facades and private mansions.
By the way, do you know the Plantagenets? They were a royal dynasty who ruled England and France in the Middle Ages. King Henry II Plantagenet was born here, but you may be more familiar with his wife Eleanor D'Aquitaine or his son Richard the Lionheart.
In short, its early classification as a “secteur sauvegardé” in 1966 has kept the place in its original state, so you won't see any electric wires or modern signs.
Cyrano de Bergerac puts the spotlight on the town
The turning point came with the huge success of Cyrano de Bergerac in 1990. If you've seen the film, you'll remember Gérard Depardieu's scene in front of Saint-Julien cathedral. The film won numerous awards, including 10 Césars, the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and even an Oscar nomination. Imagine what a spotlight that was for the city. You could almost say that this film set the trend for historical filming in the Man. You may not have seen this classic, but you've certainly seen the following films.
A long list of films shot in Le Mans
Indeed, the town has played host to many films, the best known of which include Le Bossu, a classic cloak-and-dagger movie, as well as the Hollywood movie The Man in the Iron Mask starring Leonardo DiCaprio (I love that film), and Molière and Jean de La Fontaine. What appeals to film-makers is the diversity of settings that Le Vieux Mans has to offer. The medieval city can represent different eras, be it the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, or pre-Hausmann Paris. You can travel back in time without the need for special effects.
Practical benefits of shooting in Le Mans
If there are other historic towns like Senlis or Tours - I've already been to Senlis, it's very pretty, I recommend it - well, Le Mans stands out for the number of hectares of totally preserved streets. What's more, the city makes it really easy to produce. Modern elements like benches, signs or even barriers can be easily dismantled to make way for period settings. It's almost as if Le Mans was designed to host historical film shoots. Well done!
Le Mans, future center of historical cinema
So, as you can see, Le Mans is well on the way to becoming the benchmark for period cinema in France. And with the recent successes of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, the genre has not finished conquering cinemas.
Want to know more about French language, take French lessons with me!
Comments