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Versailles, July 14, 1789. In France, this day is an important event that brought about incredible change: the end of one of Europe’s mightiest monarchies. That day, the French people took the Bastille (Paris’ royal prison) as a sign of their revolt against Louis XVI and his government. However, this day didn’t have the same meaning in Versailles. Have you ever asked yourself about the reaction of the court? How did you picture the image in your head? Actually, it’s a very interesting question, and to answer to that, Mademoiselle Sidonie Laborde, dragged us inside the castle for a private and intimate tour.

Laborde was a witness despite her will to this crucial turning point in French history. Due to her young age, she didn’t understand everything. Actually, nobody in the court realized the importance of the event, or the drastic consequences, for better or worse, it would have in the future. The French court, led by the King Louis XIV and his wife Marie-Antoinette, was living apart from the common people. In Versailles, everything was luxury, lust, and staggering expenses. While the people were dying on the street due to sanitary problems or starvation, the court was enjoying another life. Nothing was missing, they had an abundance of food choices, and a roof to protect them from everything. The people were blinded by the power their position gave them. Being so close to the royal couple made them forget about themselves as human beings, only alive to climb the social ladder of the Bourbon court. The bond was extreme, and no one was expecting such a capsize in their peaceful life. However, the people spoke that they wanted not only “bread”, but also the power. The monarchy had to end. To show their determination, the liberators wrote a pamphlet listing two-hundred and eighty-six heads necessary to cut off in order to initiate big reforms. The second name on the list was the name of the queen.

Despite the agitation of the first day of change, Marie-Antoinette kept to her habits by calling her personal reader, Laborde, to entertain her with the appropriate book. Then she focused her attention on an era-appropriate “fashion magazine,” and finally ordered an embroidery for her new dress. The quotidian nature of her day contrasted strongly with the situation outside. Mademoiselle Laborde was always happy to share these precious moments with her idol, the queen. She enjoyed being close to Marie-Antoinette, and was always ready to satisfy any of her caprices.

The power of the movie came from this will to show a crumbling present, changing day after day, without giving anything away about the ending. The character of the young reader was determined. She was our guide in this major event. We lived the crucial period at her rhythm, through her eyes, as the information was revealing itself. Some were just rumors while others came frighteningly to fruition. Until July 17 of that year, Mademoiselle Laborde shared her subjective opinion about the reaction of the court, and the queen.

This movie is a reminder of how the present can be so fragile, and how we tend to ignore the consequences of our actions. The director, Benoit Jacquot, decided to make the event seem recent, so, as a viewer, we are able to get involved with the whole story. And it worked; we were fully and undeniably present in a very personal perception of one of the world’ most precedent-setting and significant, political movements.

By Kenza Yahrfouri