French Crossroads: Three Pricey Musketeers On The Big Screen
No Jack Bauer. No Legolas. Just a lot of francs.
The Three Musketeers
Last year, I finished reading Alexandre Dumas’ Les Trois Mousquetaires in French, which I considered a major accomplishment on my road to being less bad at the French language. The Musketeers are such heroic icons, particularly in the Gascony region that we love, that the actual novel was quite surprising.
For instance, the Musketeers are actually traitors to France. They support the French Queen (who is actually Spanish and is having an affair with an Englishman) in her rivalry with King Louis XIII and they help her cover up her various mischief. The king is basically a buffoon, supported by his ally-henchman Cardinal Richelieu who is constantly scheming and is cast as the bad guy (but who is also trying to save the king and France from their enemies!). The Cardinal’s own guards are rivals to the Musketeer Guards. It’s all a bit knotty, and the Musketeers find it problematic when England (with the secret support of the Queen) invades and they’re trying to figure out who they support while maintaining their chivalry.
Though there have been many adaptations, Dumas’ story is usually nowhere to be found.
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