A movie inspired by a tragic maritime event happened in 1816 and a movie produced in France and in Iran, "le radeau de la Méduse" is a movie that required 4 years of work! During this very long time, you feel that the director, Iradj Azimi significantly put a lot of time and effort in his project. But his efforts weren't vain at all because the result is terrific.
In his movie, Azimi's speaking to the spectator. It means that he tries to understand and explain us how such the "Méduse" drama could happen. Thus, his directing turns out to be rigorous, precise and sometimes inventive. There's also a quiet but sustained use of the voice-over.
If the director chose to shot his film with a special photography (that spawned several gorgeous pictures), it's because he wanted to find similar colors again as the ones used on Géricault's famous painting. It deals with dark but a little shiny colors. This photography gives more strength to the dramatic side of the story. You can also notice that Azimi decided to shot the appalling castaways' living conditions with a minimum of reserve. Thanks to this, it avoids the movie to fall into the sordid.
A stunning movie supported by a quite weird but fascinating photography and Jean Yanne's extraordinary performance.
