Sophia Michaels
Check it out at the theaters, or on Netflix.
It’s a historical meet-cute for the ages. In this POPSUGAR-exclusive clip from the new historical drama “Chevalier,” Joseph Bologne, aka Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), meets Marie-Josephine de Montalembert (Samara Weaving) at a party held by none other than Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton). Joseph is immediately smitten, but Marie-Josephine is already married.
“Chevalier” is based on the true story of Bologne, the illegitimate son of a French plantation owner and a woman he had enslaved. At a young age, Joseph’s father took him from his home in Guadeloupe to France for him to be educated, separating Joseph from his mother. Joseph became an accomplished fencer and violinist, eventually rising to the height of the music world and becoming a friend of Marie-Antoinette. But as a free man in prerevolution France, he faced racism everywhere despite his connections to members of nobility. Eventually, he became a revolutionary himself and was one of the first people to join the French Revolutionary Army.
The new film, released April 21 after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, follows Chevalier as he becomes disillusioned with his life in the French upper crust and falls out with Marie Antoinette. It’s directed by Stephen Williams from a screenplay by “What We Do in the Shadows” writer Stefani Robinson. The movie also stars Sian Clifford, Marton Csokas, Alex Fitzalan, and Minnie Driver.
Robinson gave a look into some of the filming process for the movie in an Instagram post on April 6. She wrote, “Making this movie was as equally difficult as it was joyous; a true labor of love. I am so incredibly blown away and endlessly inspired by all the artists who poured themselves into making this film. Thank you for your time and friendship.”
The award-winning screenwriter continued, “We shot this movie in the beautiful Czech Republic, across the country in its many gorgeous locations. We also spent quite a lot of time shooting on a sound stage that was said to be used by the Nazis to create propaganda films in WWII. To be able to use that same space to make a film about love, liberty, freedom, and blackness was and is one of the most moving experiences of my life.”
“Chevalier” is in theaters now.
