There are certain films that take on a special significance when watched from Fontainebleau. The one from Friday 4 September at 8.00 pm at CinéParadis, at the Halle de Villars, is one of them. A preview screening is being held there «The Heroes of the Louvre», the new film by’Elie Chouraqui, and the issue affects us more directly than we might imagine.
September 1939. War breaks out, the German invasion looms, and the Louvre urgently organises the evacuation of its collections. Babi Maklouf, a night watchman at the museum, is entrusted with the task of escorting some of these treasures out of Paris. Thus begins a journey through occupied France, where the fate of a family becomes intertwined with that of paintings from Delacroix, from Vinci and from Géricault.
In this film, Elie Chouraqui tells the story of his own grandfather, having previously dedicated a comic strip to him, *Le héros du Louvre*. The film is therefore as much an adventure story as it is a tribute to his family, which lends it a warmth that historical reconstructions do not always possess.
That’s when the evening really gets going. The session takes place in the presence of Anaïs Dorey, curator at the Fontainebleau Castle Museum, who will be there to explain how the château’s artworks were also brought to safety during the Occupation. It’s rare to come out of a film with the added bonus of hearing about what happened just three hundred metres from the cinema.
See you at CinéParadis, Halle de Villars. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the cinema box office or online at the online ticket office for the ‘Heroes of the Louvre’ screening. A preview screening fills up quickly, so it’s best not to leave it until the last minute.
A few words are enough, I reply personally.
