''That Night in Varennes'' ( it, Il mondo nuovo; french: La Nuit de Varennes) is a 1982 French-Italian drama film directed by

Ettore Scola Ettore Scola (; 10 May 1931 – 19 January 2016) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He received a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film in 1978 for his film '' A Special Day'' and over the course of his film career was nominated for fiv ...

. It is based on a novel by

Catherine Rihoit Catherine Rihoit (Born in Caen in 1950) is a French writer. ''Portrait de Gabriel'', her first novel, appeared in 1977. In 1979, she received the Prix des Deux Magots for ''Le bal des débutantes''. Her 1982 novel ''La Nuit de Varennes ou l'Im ...

. It tells the story of a fictional meeting among

Restif de la Bretonne Nicolas Restif de la Bretonne, born Nicolas-Edme Rétif or Nicolas-Edme Restif (; 23 October 1734 – 3 February 1806), also known as Rétif, was a French novelist. The term '' retifism'' for shoe fetishism was named after him (an early nov ...

, Giacomo Casanova,

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

and Sophie de la Borde (a lady in waiting to the queen). They are all traveling together in a coach that is a few hours behind the one that is carrying King Louis XVI and

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

in their

flight to Varennes The royal Flight to Varennes (french: Fuite à Varennes) during the night of 20–21 June 1791 was a significant event in the French Revolution in which King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family unsuccessfull ...

during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. The film was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. The film was nominated for

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

by the U.S. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.

Selected cast

Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgund ...

as Nicolas Edmé Restif de la Bretonne *

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (28 September 1924 – 19 December 1996) was an Italian film actor, regarded as one of his country's most iconic male performers of the 20th century. He played leading roles for many of Italy's top di ...

as Casanova, Chevalier de Seingalt *

Hanna Schygulla Hanna Schygulla (; born 25 December 1943) is a German actress and chanson singer associated with the theater and film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She first worked for Fassbinder in 1965 and became an active participant in the New German ...

as Countess Sophie de la Borde * Harvey Keitel as Thomas Paine *

Jean-Claude Brialy Jean-Claude Brialy (30 March 1933 – 30 May 2007) was a French actor and film director. Early life Brialy was born in Aumale (now Sour El-Ghozlane), French Algeria, where his father was stationed with the French Army. Brialy moved to mainland ...

as Monsieur Jacob * Andréa Ferréol as Madame Adélaïde Gagnon *

Michel Vitold Michel Vitold (1915–1994) was a Russian-born French stage and film actor.Durgnat p.141 Selected filmography * '' Orage'' (1938) - Georges (uncredited) * ''Adrienne Lecouvreur'' (1938) - Le tueur * ''The Curtain Rises'' (1938) - Gabriel, un él� ...

as De Florange * Laura Betti as Virginia Capacelli *

Pierre Malet Pierre Malet (born 3 September 1955 in Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques) is a French actor. He is the twin brother of Laurent Malet. Filmography * 1976 : '' Le Siècle des lumières'' (TV) : ''A page'' * 1976 : '' Comme un boomerang'' : ''Oth ...

as Emile Delage, student revolutionary * Enzo Jannacci as the Italian clown *

Daniel Gélin Daniel Yves Alfred Gélin (19 May 1921 – 29 November 2002) was a French film and television actor. Early life Gélin was born in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, the son of Yvonne (née Le Méner) and Alfred Ernest Joseph Gélin. When he was ten, ...

as De Wendel * Didi Perego as Madame Sauce *

Caterina Boratto Caterina Boratto (15 March 1915 – 14 September 2010) was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 50 films between 1936 and 1993. Life and career Born in Turin, Boratto studied at the Musical Lyceum in her hometown with the purpose of bec ...

as Madame Faustine * Dora Doll as Nanette Precy *

Hugues Quester Hugues Quester (born 5 August 1948) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than 60 films and television shows since 1969. He starred in Raúl Ruiz's 1983 film '' City of Pirates''. Selected filmography * '' Mr. Freedom'' (1969) * '' La rose ...

as Jean-Louis Romeuf * Jean-Louis Trintignant as Monsieur Sauce *

Michel Piccoli Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...

as King Louis XVI

References

External links

* * * 1982 films 1980s historical drama films Films based on French novels French historical drama films Italian historical drama films 1980s French-language films French Revolution films Films directed by Ettore Scola Films scored by Armando Trovajoli Films set in the 1790s Cultural depictions of Giacomo Casanova Cultural depictions of Thomas Paine Cultural depictions of Louis XVI Cultural depictions of Marie Antoinette 1982 drama films Films with screenplays by Ettore Scola 1980s Italian films 1980s French films {{historic-film-stub