A new French drama series, “The Red and the Black,” based on Stendhal’s 1830 novel, is set to debut at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Le Havre after screenings at Canneseries and the Italian Global Series Festival. The four-part series, produced by Siècle Productions for France Télévisions and sold by Wild Bunch, stars Victor Belmondo as Julien Sorel.
The series follows Julien Sorel as he attempts to rise in society, navigating passion, power, and political intrigue. Director Gaël Morel reunites with Belmondo following their 2024 film “To Live, to Die, to Live Again.” The script is by Georges-Marc Benamou and Gilles Taurand, who previously collaborated on “The Last Mitterrand” and “The Plague.”
According to Benamou, the creators were inspired by the enduring qualities of Stendhal’s work, noting “There is a universality to great literature…from Stendhal to Jane Austen.” He describes Julien Sorel as “an anti-romantic hero: an ambitious man whose aspirations are thwarted,” highlighting the intense passions and lack of romantic sentimentality in the original work. Benamou believes the story of an ambitious man attempting to climb the social ladder while facing hypocrisy remains relevant today.
Benamou points to parallels between the series and contemporary issues, stating, “There are indeed parallels with the present day.” He specifically cites “the return of moral conservatism, embodied by the Congregation of Catholic fundamentalists determined to destroy Julien Sorel; women constrained by society who choose to emancipate themselves; and the social determinism faced by this class defector, who is unable to escape his background.”
Morel emphasizes that the series explores modern themes such as class mobility, social determinism, and male-female relationships, noting that Julien Sorel’s rise is facilitated by women who “embody power.”
Read the original coverage
💬 Comments
📜 Comment Policy