Paris, late 19th century. The talented engineer Gustave Eiffel dreams of building the subway, the underground railroad of the future. But an encounter with a mysterious woman from his past literally turns Eiffel’s world upside down. Their dizzying romance inspires him to create an inconceivable architectural masterpiece – a giant openwork tower, which eventually becomes a symbol of Paris, romance and love.
4k movies reviews
Almost everyone probably knows what the Eiffel Tower is in Paris. This film is about how it was built.
The construction process itself is not very interesting for an ordinary viewer (average man). Therefore, numerous screenwriters over the years of making this film have turned its plot into a tabloid novel.
Second half of the 19th century. According to the already famous engineer Gustave Eiffel, Paris needs the subway to be built. But those in power are of little concern to the convenience of the citizens. They choose a glamorous and, in the opinion of many, useless project (then) the highest tower in the world. It should be built in time for the world exhibition, to surpass everyone.
All these ‘boring’ circumstances for the ‘nice female viewers’ are interspersed with flashbacks to the engineer’s youth, when he was in love with the young Adrienne. Then their passionate love never translated into a wedding. Now, 20 years later, the girl (and she is already a married woman) again appears on the horizon Eiffel. And the passion flares up with renewed vigor. Emma McKay somehow overacts when she shows her character at 18, but adds nothing to the image when her heroine is already 38.
There’s no particular digression, either toward Freud, or at least toward the fact that the tower is a phallic symbol, the desire to create psychological space in Martin Bourboulon’s direction. More than anything, his film production resembles a TV movie from the ’90s, when it was much cheaper to shoot mass scenes with crowds of extras than it has been in recent years.
Television movies were usually shot in close-ups or medium shots, but here there are scenes that pretend to be historical canvases. Nevertheless, the canvas is not obtained, it is blocked by banal melodrama, which may be appropriate in 18? But in more serious coordinates it looks vulgar.
It would seem that such a production should necessarily have passionate erotic scenes. Alas. The creators (not looking at their Frenchness or even German candor) did without it. Why? Lack of budget? Or was the film intended as a handbook for high school students? Or was the skinny bearded body of actor Romain Duris, with his abundant hair, not attractive enough for most young viewers?
The spectacle is too melodramatic for high school students, not explicit enough for female viewers, and for viewers the heroine is too chaste in contrast to the standard images of secular French cocottes of the late 19th century. That is, neither here nor there.
Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (80.0 Mb/s)
Resolution: Upscaled 4K (2160p)
HDR: HDR10
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
French: Dolby TrueHD with Dolby Atmos 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles
English, French.
