Adieu Bonaparte
- Director: Youssef Chahine
- Writer: Youssef Chahine; Yousry Nasrallah
- Producer: Humbert Balsan; Marianne Khoury
CGiii Comment
Set during the French occupation of Egypt in the late 1700s/early 1800s, Chahine’s historical drama paints an intimate portrait of General Caffarelli, who famously denounced Napoleon’s war of occupation in the country. Accompanying Bonaparte through Egypt, Caffarelli is more interested in discovering the spirit of the country and ultimately takes the Egyptian side against the French emperor’s oppressive rule. When it screened at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival, Adieu Bonaparte received a mixed reception. But Chahine’s vision has only become richer with time, offering a depth and complexity that makes the film fascinatingly contemporary, as it sensitively depicts the Egyptian people in their perpetual quest for independence. With sumptuous costumes and spectacular vistas of the Nile and the surrounding landscape, this is an unforgettable voyage of discovery.
Julie Pearce
Trailer...
Cast & Characters
Michel Piccoli as Cafarelli;
Mohsen Mohieddin as Ali;
Patrice Chereau as Napoleon Bonaparte;
Mohsena Tewfik as La mere;
Christian Patey as Horace;
Gamil Ratib as Barthelemy;
Taheya Cariocca as La sage femme;
Claude Cernay as Decoin;
Mohamad Dardiri as Sheikh Charaf;
Hassan El Adl as Cheikh Aedalah;
Tewfik El Dekn as Le Derwiche;
Seif El Dine as Kourayem;
Hassan Husseiny as Le pere;
Farid Mahmoud as Faltaos;
Hoda Soltan as Nefissa