‘The Red and the Black’ Series Reimagines Julien Sorel — SkimNews
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- 'The Red and the Black' series, adapted from Stendhal’s 1830 novel, follows Julien Sorel’s rise through French society amid passion, power struggles and political intrigue, portrayed by Victor Belmondo in a four-part format.
- Victor Belmondo plays Julien Sorel as a calculating, ambitious young man rather than a romantic hero, a deliberate departure from earlier adaptations like the 1954 film starring Gérard Philipe.
- Gaël Morel, director of the series, frames the story as a variation on the novel rather than a faithful adaptation, focusing on themes like class defection and social determinism for contemporary resonance.
- Georges-Marc Benamou and Gilles Taurand, the writers, emphasize Stendhal’s critique of moral hypocrisy and draw parallels to today’s resurgence of moral conservatism, stalled social mobility, and women’s emancipation.
- Wild Bunch is selling the series internationally at Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Le Havre, positioning it as universally appealing content that unites generations around a shared narrative.
Why it matters: By reframing Julien Sorel not as a victim but as a flawed, ambitious striver constrained by class and ideology, the series offers a more psychologically complex portrait that reflects ongoing struggles with social mobility in France and beyond — making Stendhal’s 19th-century critique newly relevant without embellishing it with sentimentality.
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