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Bernard Bombeau, Eliane Annie Adalto, Pierre Barbieux

Noted filmmaker and media critic Peter Watkins directs this mammoth six-hour-long look at the legendary Paris Commune of 1871. Following the humiliating defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War, th... read more read more...e reign of Napoleon III collapsed in the resulting public foment. While a new regime headed under the Government of National Defense tried to shore up power, a band of commoners took the reigns of power for themselves and created the Paris Commune, a government defiantly separate from the state operating under a sort of proto-Marxist ethos. Inevitably, the Commune was brutally suppressed by French troops. Watkins' treatment of the event juxtaposes the present with the past -- modern day CNN-style reporting with historical fact. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

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6 critics

Unrated, 5 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Peter Watkins

Release Date: July 3, 2003

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DVD Release Date: October 24, 2006

Stats: 9 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (9)

  • gator681
    May 22, 2010
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]The Franco-Prussian War ends disastrously for the French in 1871 with a months long siege and the surrender of Alsace-Lorraine to Prussia. After the war, the city of Paris is still in rough shape with little food to go around. Some men join the National Guard... read more for meager pay. When the provisional government tries to reclaim the guard's cannon, the citizens fearing a restoration of the monarchy, successfully rebuff them. In response, the government flees to Versailles(ironically the ancestral home of the monarchy) and a commune is established in Paris with elections on the way...[/font]

    [font=Century Gothic]"La Commune" is a deliberately anachronistic telling of the short history of the 1871 Paris Commune by focusing on the 11th district, connecting those events to the present day.(The characters act on behalf of their children and the future, seeking to make a better world for them.) Throughout, two reporters for Commune TV - Blanche Capellier(Aurelia Petit) and Gerard Bourlet(Gerard Watkins) - interview various citizens of the commune.(This is contrasted with the official broadcast coming from Versailles which consists of a sole anchor, accompanied by the occasional expert.) Through this technique, director Peter Watkins shows that he has broader aims than just a simple history lesson. He is also concerned with how the media delivers information(at the same time, he is also critical of some of the Commune's news and actions). [/font]

    [font=Century Gothic]The movie is a truly collaborative effort. Watkins takes a method he used previously with his film "Edward Munch" where he interviewed characters and expands on it by also occasionally talking to the actors themselves to get their opinion on the film. In the end, Watkins argues for a more participatory democracy. [/font]

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Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz
September 26, 2009
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Remarkable re-created historical piece. Full Review

Louis Proyect
November 5, 2006
Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews

Great masterpiece about the first working-class revolution in history. Full Review

Eric Henderson
October 29, 2006
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine

Peter Watkins's La Commune (Paris, 1871) is a marginalized, disjointed, whirling dervish of utopian ideas and devil-may-care indulgence, as was its subject matter. Full Review

Doug Cummings
October 27, 2006
Doug Cummings, Filmjourney

Filled with wall-to-wall political debate, pleas for social equality and critiques of power, the film is a furious, provocative, and rousing experimental documentary that reenacts the Commune's histor... Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
October 15, 2009
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Click to read the article Full Review

Eddie Cockrell
March 27, 2009
Eddie Cockrell, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

V.A. Musetto
October 14, 2006
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

No review available.

Dave Kehr
October 14, 2006
Dave Kehr, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

J. Hoberman
October 14, 2006
J. Hoberman, Village Voice

Click to read the article Full Review

Leo Goldsmith
August 17, 2007
Leo Goldsmith, Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Click to read the article Full Review

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