Edmond Dantès becomes the target of a sinister plot and is arrested on his wedding day for a crime he did not commit. After 14 years in the island prison of Château d’If, he manages a daring escape. Now rich beyond his dreams, he assumes the identity of the Count of Monte Cristo and exacts his revenge on the three men who betrayed him. A film by Matthieu Delaporte & Alexandre de La Patellière, starring Pierre Niney, Bastien Bouillon, Anaïs Demoustier, Anamaria Vartolomei, Pierfrancesco Favino, Patrick Mille, Vassili Schneider, Julien de Saint Jean, Julie de Bona, Adèle Simphal, Stéphane Varupenne, Marie Narbonne, and Laurent Lafitte.

In 1815, after being driven from power, Napoleon takes refuge on the island of Elba. While his loyal supporters dream of his return, the new royalist regime hunts them down mercilessly. Arrests and executions multiply in what amounts to a civil war.

On a stormy night off the coast of Cap Corse, the merchant ship Le Pharaon crosses paths with a vessel engulfed in flames. Edmond Dantès (Pierre Niney), a crew member of Le Pharaon, spots a castaway floating in the sea and jumps into the dark waters to attempt a rescue, defying Captain’s orders.

Cap Corse is a peninsula located at the northern tip of Corsica, France. It extends approximately 40 kilometers in length and is situated just north of the city of Bastia, which is the second largest city on the island. The peninsula is part of a Communauté de communes that includes 18 communes, covering an area of about 305.7 km². Historically, Cap Corse has been referred to as “the Sacred Promontory,” a name attributed to early Christian settlements in the area. This name originates from ancient geographer Ptolemy, who described it as sacrum promontorium in his works.

Edmond dives underwater and saves a woman (Adèle Simphal) from drowning. When he brings her back to Le Pharaon, Captain Danglars (Patrick Mille) becomes infuriated and slaps him for insubordination, confining him below deck as punishment. Danglars notices the castaway gripping a small document tube in her hand. He yanks it from her grasp and discovers it contains a letter from Napoleon. Recognizing its danger and importance, he seizes the letter.

As Le Pharaon approaches Marseille, the woman confronts Danglars and demands the return of her letter. However, Danglars refuses and attempts to extort money from her in exchange for it. The woman insists she has no money and warns Danglars that if he ever speaks of the letter, her friends will find him and they will kill him.

Je n’oublierai jamais votre courage.
Mais oubliez mon nom.

In Marseille, as the woman disembarks, she encounters Edmond. She thanks him for saving her life and apologizes for causing him trouble. Introducing herself as Angèle, she bids him farewell before disappearing into the crowd.

Danglars reports the incident to his employer Morrel (Bruno Raffaelli), claiming that Dantès wanted to launch a lifeboat when they hit debris. Danglars explains that he forbade this action, but Dantès dove into the water anyway. When Danglars complains that he no longer wants such an uncontrollable sailor on his ship, Morrel responds by firing Danglars from his position as Captain. Instead of punishment, Morrel commends Dantès for saving a woman’s life and upholding his honor. After Danglars leaves, Morrel introduces his grandson Maximilien (Joachim Simon) to Dantès and then names Dantès as the new Captain.

Edmond visits his fiancée Mercédès Herrera (Anaïs Demoustier) to share the great news of his promotion to Captain. His new social status now allows him to propose marriage. Together they ride horseback to Morcerf castle, where his father (Bernard Blancan) serves as a butler. The Morcerf family, Edmond’s father’s employers, had generously funded Edmond’s naval studies.

Written and directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière, Le COMTE de MONTE CRISTO is based on Alexandre Dumas’ classic 1844 novel “LE COMTE DE MONTE-CRISTO”. It follows the story of Edmond Dantès, who is wrongfully imprisoned and seeks revenge on those who betrayed him.

The film is stunningly shot from first minute to last, transporting us back to 18th-century France with a narrative that remains thrilling and captivating throughout its 168-minute runtime.

The French novel “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo” has been adapted numerous times, including Henri Fescourt’s 1929 French silent film “Monte Cristo,” Rowland V. Lee’s 1934 American adventure film “The Count of Monte Cristo,” Robert Vernay’s 1943 French-Italian film “Le Comte de Monte Cristo,” Claude Autant-Lara’s 1961 French adventure film “Le Comte de Monte Cristo,” Josée Dayan’s French-Italian miniseries “Le Comte de Monte Cristo,” Kevin Reynolds’s 2002 American historical adventure film “The Count of Monte Cristo,” and Bille August’s 2024 English-language miniseries “The Count of Monte Cristo.” The enduring popularity of these adaptations proves that the narrative, with its themes of revenge, justice, redemption, and its deeply satisfying conclusion, truly stands the test of time.

Pierre Niney delivers an outstanding performance, embodying the complex character of Edmond Dantès, alongside an amazing supporting cast whose performances add depth to the narrative through their richly developed motivations and backstories.

While it’s understandable that condensing the 800-page French novel into a 168-minute film presented a challenge, and the filmmakers managed to include the essential elements, I would have preferred a longer version that properly introduced Haydée’s backstory and explored how Edmond found his way back home after his prison escape, as well as how he established himself as the Count of Monte Cristo.

The 2024 film adaptation of “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo” is undoubtedly the most stylish version to date and arguably the most faithful to the original French source material.

Le COMTE de MONTE CRISTO premiered at Festival de Cannes on 22 May 2024 where it received nearly 12-minute ovation. The film was theatrically released in France on 28 June, by Pathé.