Adieu Bonaparte, when Egypt was already preparing for its revolution

Film still of Adieu Bonaparte © RR

Egyptian director Youssef Chahine was in attendance in Cannes in 1970 with The Land (Al Ard), and he first made his name internationally with Alexandria... why?, which won the Silver Bear at the Berlinale. In 1985, he was invited to the Croisette for Adieu Bonaparte, which will be screened again this year in Cannes Classics.

In 1798, avid for power and glory, Bonaparte set out to conquer Egypt. General Caffarelli, who accompanied him, was far more interested in discovering this country and its spirit than in military pursuits. He became friends with two Egyptians, and ultimately took their side in resistance to the Bonapartist oppression. Under a historic fresco, in Adieu Bonaparte, Youssef Chahine paints an intimate portrait of General Caffarelli, who denounces the war of occupation. He depicts Egyptian youth as curious, sensitive, in revolt and aware of their engagement.

When the film was screened in Cannes in 1985, reception was mixed. The director was criticised for not following the academic rules of reconstituting historic subject matter. Along with his actors, Michel Piccoli and Patrice Chéreau, Youssef Chahine was put on the defensive by journalists at the press conference. The film was considered confused and did not make the Palmarès. Nevertheless, Youssef Chahine, a visionary, had signed a contemporary production on the origins of the modern state of Egypt and the Egyptian people, in their perpetual quest for independence.

A presentation and restoration by Cinémathèque française, Misr International Films and TF1 Droits Audiovisuels, with support from the CNC, the Fonds Culturel Franco-Américain (DGA-MPA-SACEM-WGAW), the Archives audiovisuelles de Monaco and the Association Youssef Chahine.