On April 15, 2019, a fire broke out at Notre-Dame de Paris. The story of the biggest disaster in the history of the famous cathedral, over 800 years old, is told hour by hour from the point of view of the women and men who risked their lives to avoid the worst.
Posted at 10:30 a.m.
Throughout his career, Jean-Jacques Annaud has always tackled very ambitious projects by meeting – often brilliantly – challenges of a technological and logistical nature. The fire war, The name of the rose, Seven years in Tibet, Enemy at the Gatesso many titles displaying a penchant for large-scale cinematic spectacle.
Notre Dame is burninghis first all-French feature in over 40 years, might have been a documentary, but the director of last wolf preferred to bet on documented fiction to better immerse the viewer in a totally immersive experience. On this level, he did well. His new film is eye-opening and ear-filling.
Recounting the disaster hour by hour, with the failures of the beginning (the firefighters were called three quarters of an hour after the start of the fire), the filmmaker manages to recreate the climate of incredulity and high tension that marked the hours during which it was even believed that the cathedral was going to collapse. By reconstructing all the stages of the fire with striking realism, also using real scenes from the archives, Jean-Jacques Annaud sticks to those who experienced the drama from the inside. It also highlights the heroic work of all those involved who ensured that, miraculously, the disaster ultimately resulted in no deaths or even injuries.
The scenario writer however has the less fortunate hand when it leaves the fire to translate the agitation of all the witnesses on the spot, come from the whole world (including from Quebec). In this more fictional part, the emotion rings a little false.
That said, it is impossible to look at these images without a pang in the heart, especially since Jean-Jacques Annaud makes us live the event by creating a suspense that keeps us in suspense.
Notre Dame is burning is currently playing in Quebec.
Drama
Notre Dame is burning
Jean Jacques Annaud
With Samuel Labarthe, Jean-Paul Bordes, Mickaël Chirinian
1 h 50