Jean-Jacques Annaud is one of the most celebrated French filmmakers of the last several decades. He’s won numerous Cesar Awards as well as an Academy Award for his 1976 film, “Black and White in Color.” But over his illustrious career, he’s only released a total of 13 films, so a new Annaud picture is something to get excited about. And that’s why we’re intrigued by the trailer for his new film, “Notre-Dame on Fire.”
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As you might have guessed from the title, “Notre-Dame on Fire” is a film inspired by the real-life tragedy that found the Notre Dame Cathedral was destroyed by fire back in 2019. The feature isn’t a documentary, but a narrative film that goes blow-by-blow through the entire process through the POV of the firefighters on the scene. And perhaps most intriguing is the fact that “Notre-Dame on Fire” is created specifically for the IMAX experience, making it potentially one of the most visually impactful films of Annaud’s career.
The film stars Samuel Labarthe, Jean-Paul Bordes, Mikael Chirinian, Jérémie Laheurte, Chloé Jouannet, and Pierre Lottin. “Notre-Dame on Fire” is written and directed by Annaud and marks his first feature since 2015’s “Wolf Totem.” However, over that time, he also released the 10-episode drama series, “The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair,” which starred Patrick Dempsey.
“Notre-Dame on Fire” is set to arrive in French cinemas in March 2022. It’s unclear when the film might arrive in North America.
Here’s the synopsis:
NOTRE DAME ON FIRE offers a blow-by-blow recreation of the gripping events that took place on April 15, 2019, when the cathedral suffered the biggest blaze in its history. The film retraces how heroic men and women put their lives on the line to accomplish an awe-inspiring rescue.