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The Children of the Century

The Children of the Century

Drama · Romance · 1999

True tale of the tumultuous love affair between two French literary icons of the 19th Century, novelist George Sand and poet Alfred de Musset. But their affair falls apart during an excursion to Venice, Italy where Musset is distracted by drugs and Sand by a handsome doctor.

Movie details

The Children of the Century

1999 Drama · Romance 2h 15m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

True tale of the tumultuous love affair between two French literary icons of the 19th Century, novelist George Sand and poet Alfred de Musset. But their affair falls apart during an excursion to Venice, Italy where Musset is distracted by drugs and Sand by a handsome doctor.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Children of the Century?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Diane Kurys

Written by

Murray Head · François-Olivier Rousseau · Diane Kurys

Juliette Binoche

Juliette Binoche

George Sand / Baroness Aurore Dudevant

Benoît Magimel

Benoît Magimel

Alfred de Musset

Stefano Dionisi

Stefano Dionisi

Pietro Pagello

Robin Renucci

Robin Renucci

François Buloz

Karin Viard

Karin Viard

Marie Dorval

Isabelle Carré

Isabelle Carré

Aimée d'Alton

Patrick Chesnais

Patrick Chesnais

Gustave Planche

Court is in session

Put The Children of the Century on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.