Farewell, My Queen

Farewell, My Queen (Les Adieux à la reine, 2012) is Benoît Jacquot's historical drama, ready to watch online on iFILM. It covers three July days when the crowds outside had already picked up muskets and Versailles still pretended the world wasn't ending.

We watch it all through Sidonie Laborde, a young servant who reads aloud to Marie Antoinette and quietly loves her. Léa Seydoux makes that devotion almost painful to look at; Diane Kruger plays a queen whose careless charm lasts right up to the hour her courtiers start fleeing the palace. The camera follows the staff down dark corridors, into kitchens and attics — the Versailles the official portraits never show.

Adapted from Chantal Thomas's novel, the film keeps its hushed register: not a battlefield epic of revolution but the cold draught of it, snuffing out candles in the grandest house in Europe. It's for viewers who like costume drama with a chill and a servant's-eye view of history. Stream Farewell, My Queen (2012) online on iFILM.