Not the way the French pupils and students remember him.He was not a jolly fellow .When he died,soon after le Cardinal de Richelieu ,both were not mourned.But "le Capitan" takes place during the king's youth ,when Concini was ruling the country on behalf of the queen mother Anne d'Autriche,and when Richelieu was a Concini protégé -he does not appear anyway- Jean Marais was cast as Jean Marais the fair knight, a part he played in half a dozen of swashbucklers of the era("le capitaine Fracasse","le miracle des loups" "le bossu" "le masque de fer" "les mysteries de Paris" ..).Elsa Martinelli, a former Kirk Douglas protégée supplies the love interest :a belle who wants her father to become king and thus to overthrow the legitimate one.Concini was ,even in history,a true villain who squandered the money that Sully ,Henri the Fourth's minister, had amassed.In the movie ,he becomes a super villain ,trying to kill his king by poisoning him or drugging his horse .Why not? Bourvil and Pierrette Bruno provides the flick with a welcome comic relief.
Those old Marais movies retain a certain charm.History was given a rough ride,à la Alexandre Dumas,but they are still enjoyable today.Recommended for the family.
Those old Marais movies retain a certain charm.History was given a rough ride,à la Alexandre Dumas,but they are still enjoyable today.Recommended for the family.