1954 · drama · historical · romance
Désirée
Directed by Henry Koster1h 50m1954
In Marseilles, France in 1794, Desiree Clary, a young millinery clerk, becomes infatuated with Napoleon Bonaparte, but winds up wedding General Jean-Baptiste Berandotte, an aid to Napoleon who later joins the forces that bring about the Emperor's downfall. Josephine Beauharnais, a worldly courtesan marries Napoleon and becomes Empress of France, but is then cast aside by her spouse when she proves unable to produce an heir to the throne.
Our read: Désirée (1954) reads as a neutral, kinetic, grounded drama · historical · romance entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, measured in temperature, ambivalent in outlook.
Neutral, kinetic, measured drama / historical, grounded in texture. Ambivalent, mid-stakes, measured.
- brisk
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Availability in the UK · via JustWatch
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