The phrase “All for one and one for all” cannot be saved by adding bisexuality to The Three Musketeers.

S

In keeping with the essence of Alexandre Dumas, the latter portion of the recently released two-part movie version of The Three Musketeers presents not just one, but two unresolved cliffhangers. The first being the predicament of D’Artagnan’s beloved, who is taken captive by Milady’s henchmen following a failed attempt on Louis XIII’s life. The second cliffhanger revolves around the financial success of this potential European blockbuster.

Co-produced by France, Germany, Spain, and Belgium with a budget of €72m for both movies combined, making it one of the top 10 most expensive French productions, the films seemed well-equipped to rival Hollywood. With notable stars like Eva Green and Vincent Cassel, plenty of swashbuckling action, and modern updates such as a bisexual Porthos, the new version had all the elements for success. However, it has faced difficulties, as the first part released in April failed in the UK and Germany, while only managing to earn a decent €23m in its home country of France.

Perhaps it was the aftermath of the pandemic, but this is another unfortunate event in the ongoing saga of European blockbusters. The most recent significant European endeavor to produce a film with the intention of crossing borders was likely Luc Besson’s 2017 sci-fi Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which faced challenges in making a profit with its whopping $200 million budget. Without the advantage of a unified domestic market with a common language, like Hollywood does, these ventures are inherently risky.

EuropaCorp, led by Besson, was a prominent European movie studio known for producing popular films like the Taxi and Taken series. However, their latest film Valerian has caused significant financial struggles and the studio is currently burdened with debt. Occasional successful films like Amélie, Life Is Beautiful, and The Lives of Others have gained global recognition despite coming from smaller production companies. There are also local hits and franchises that, with some luck, gain international attention, such as Intouchables in 2011 and the live-action Astérix films. In recent years, Hollywood has begun to encroach on this territory by financing successful “local” films like The Orphanage in Spain (2007) and The Artist in France (2011). However, truly pan-European blockbusters are rare and often receive little recognition, similar to a compliment from Viktor Orbán about Brussels.

According to Jean-Jacques Annaud, the lack of infrastructure and expertise for producing large-scale European films has led to a decrease in ambition. As a French director, he had to seek funding from Paramount in the US in order to make his 2001 blockbuster Enemy at the Gates, which was crewed by Europeans and set during the Battle of Stalingrad. He reflects on the current state of European cinema, stating that there are few individuals with the necessary skills and desire to create big films, as well as a fragmented audience that no longer supports European stars of international or pan-European recognition, like Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon.

So last weekend’s European film awards were dominated by arthouse fare produced by siloed national film industries, or more modest collaborations: the likes of Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall (French) or Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest (UK/Poland/US). Mike Downey, producer and chairman of the European Film Academy, points out that “European” blockbusters do still exist in the form of films that have creative origins here but are Hollywood-financed, such as the Harry Potter series.

According to Downey, the concept of creating unified, pan-European films similar to the Eurovision competition, which were popular in the 1980s and 1990s, is now considered outdated and no longer exists. He compares these films to inexpensive wines that are made with ingredients from multiple countries and suggests that they may not be of high quality. As an example, he mentions his own film, Bathory: Countess of Blood, released in 2008 and featuring Anna Friel as a 16th-century Hungarian serial killer.

Reworded: In a different version of cinema history, there was no first world war and the French film industry, which was dominant at the time, did not experience a devastating interruption that enabled Hollywood to gain ground. This resulted in a divergence of styles between the two industries on opposite sides of the Atlantic, according to Annaud. The United States, due to its influx of immigrants, needed films that could be understood by non-English speakers, leading to a focus on action and visuals. Meanwhile, France retained its market for more sophisticated films.

This marked the beginning of a divide between mainstream and arthouse cinema, which has continued to separate the European film industry from Hollywood. As a result, many European films have shifted their focus towards socially conscious themes, often with the support of state subsidies. Director Jean-Jacques Annaud believes this has led to a culture of settling for mediocrity instead of striving for ambitious projects that could attract wider audiences. He even encountered resistance from his own colleagues when asked to speak at a film school in Paris, where his success was seen as a potential threat.

It is hoped that we have progressed from reacting with bad intentions without thought – but the overall European film industry indicates otherwise. However, Downey believes that striving for blockbuster success is not the right approach, and that Europe’s unique national cinemas are creating enough quality content. The issue lies in attracting audiences, especially in a post-pandemic world. “An important contribution we can make is to expand European cinema beyond independent theaters and into mainstream theaters alongside more commercially-driven films,” he explains. “This type of collaboration can only benefit our European artists. In today’s society, cinema plays a crucial role in shaping inclusive, multicultural, and multi-ethnic cultural identities, better equipped to embrace the ‘new Europe’.”

In 2026, the European movie accolades will be shifted from the beginning of December to the middle of January, aligning with the highly competitive awards season, in order to increase their exposure. The concept of unity and solidarity is still alive, to some extent.

Source: theguardian.com