The Horseman On The Roof

An energetic, grandly appointed costume picture from Jean-Paul Rappenau, director of the international crowd-pleaser CYRANO DE BERGERAC. The screenplay, cowritten by Rappeneau, doesn't quite capture the social dimension of Jean Giono's widely beloved novel, but the film works well on the level of an old-fashioned swashbuckler, frankly melodramatic, visually resplendent and unapologetically emotional. As a cholera epidemic sweeps through Provence in 1832, an exiled Italian cavalryman (Olivier Martinez) seeks shelter with a beautiful French noblewoman (Juliette Binoche). Before long, they're thrown together on a dangerous journey through the disease-ravaged countrysi...