On April 3, RWV Film releases "The Fall of the Crown," a historical drama starring Guillaume Canet and Mélanie Laurent. We tell you what to expect from this modest but profound film.

King Louis XVI, now Louis Capet, and his wife Marie Antoinette, along with their children, arrive at the Temple Tower prison.

Within its walls unfolds the drama of the last monarch of France under the Old Order. An unrecognizable Guillaume Canet appears as the good-natured head of a family accused of conspiring against the freedom of the nation. The last days before the execution of Louis are filled with deprivation and injustice, but he and his family endure the trials with dignity.

“The Fall of the Crown” is not an entertaining film at all. It is full of sincere conversations between spouses who were not close in marriage but, facing death, realized they had criminally little time, attention, and affection for each other—all the things they could have given each other for many years, without making themselves unhappy.

Marie Antoinette (Mélanie Laurent) proves more adaptable to the new circumstances and even plans a future simple life, completely unlike her former one in luxurious Versailles. She is no longer the idle girl who gladly squandered the state treasury on unimaginable dresses and colorful pastries. The queen she has become inspires admiration. Above all, as a strong woman ready to face the truth and not deceive her children with empty hopes of a miraculous deliverance from misfortune.

The on-screen couple of Canet and Laurent turned out to be contrasting, making it interesting and even touching to watch their strong feelings, awakened only in dark times. Not many spouses are granted to experience this, even on the threshold of death.

Visually, “The Fall of the Crown” may sometimes resemble famous paintings or dreams in soft pastel tones. This artistic technique allows us to see the contrast not only between the characters but also the circumstances in which they are immersed. Such beautiful and profound cinema deserves to be seen more often on the big screen.

In theaters from April 3.

Trailer: