Let me say first that there is no "official" version of this film with English subtitles. I got creative and indeed found the French language version with English subtitles. It was well worth the effort. This is a story of the French Revolution, and it shows how ordinary and historically well-known individuals were affected by the turn of events. The characters of those individuals are well-acted, not overly-melodramatic. I would say that the acting was toned down a bit and displayed basically how you would expect people to react under the similar situations. There was none of the "Ah, tis a far, far better thing I do, ..." histrionics or gesturing, as if the characters were speaking for history. Of all the FR pictures I have seen, the movie depicts the great chaos and energy the Revolution triggered. It is historically accurate, but it avoids the sterile type of presentation found in other docu-dramas or documentaries and has the unusual ability to grab your attention, even for its five and a half hour length.
