Le Rouge et Le Noir

The French move Le rouge et le noir was shown in the U. S. with the translated title The Red and the Black (1997 TV Movie). It was co-written and directed by Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe. The film is closely based on the famous novel by Stendhal.

Kim Rossi Stuart does an excellent job as the protagonist Julien Sorel. He is from the lower classes, which in 1829, made it almost impossible to rise in the world. However, his intelligence and ambition bring him closer and closer to his goal.

As a young man, he is hired as a tutor by the mayor of a provincial town.

It's there that he meets Mme. Renal, the mayor's wife, and falls in love with her. Louise de Rénal is supposed to be a beautiful woman, so Carole Bouquet was typecast.

Julian moves to Paris, where he meets the beautiful daughter of a nobleman--Mathilde de la Môle, played by Judith Godrèche, also typecast.

All three lead performers do an admirable job, and the result is an excellent rendition of Stendhal's classic. Truth in reviewing--I read the book and found it more tedious than it was interesting. The plot can't be blamed on the director. He did a good job with the plot he was given.

If you like romantic-era novels, then you'll like the book and the movie. If not, better to look somewhere else. The Red and the Black has a solid IMDb rating of 7.6. I thought it was somewhat better, and rated it 8.