Le Versailles Secret de Marie Antoinette (2018)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Le Versailles Secret de Marie Antoinette is the French title of a documentary film which premiered in 2018. In 2024, it was shown on French and German television (arte).

 

The title explains the topic. 

 

This film is about Marie Antoinette and her life at the Palace of Versailles (1770-1789).

 

Here is some basic information about this film:

 

** The German title: Marie Antoinette und die Geheimnisse von Versailles

** Directors: Sylvie Faiveley & Mark Daniels

** Writers: Sylvie Faiveley, Mark Daniels, and Niksa Dzordeski

** Run time: 91 minutes

 

Several historical experts are interviewed in this film.

Here are the names of the participants

(listed in alphabetical order):

 

** Alain Baraton – chief gardener – garden of Trianon

** Jérémie Benoit – chief curator at the Palace of Versailles

** Hélène Delalex – curator at the Palace of Versailles

** Evelyn Farr – a historian

** Raphael Masson – chief curator at the Palace of Versailles

** Jacques Moulin – chief architect of historical monuments

** Caroline Weber – a historian

 

Several historical moments have been reconstructed by actors. 

 

These moments show Marie Antoinette and some of the people who were connected with her, such as her husband King Louis XVI and her close friend Axel von Fersen.

 

This film is a combination of talking heads and historical moments which have been reconstructed by actors.

 

Marie Louis was born in Vienna in Austria in November 1755. In May 1770, she came to Versailles where she was married to the crown prince Louis. 

 

Both of them were very young. Marie Antoinette was only 14, while Louis was only 15.

 

The marriage was arranged by the rulers of Austria and France. The purpose of the marriage was to create a political alliance between the two countries.

 

The bride and the groom were not asked if they wanted to marry each other. They were told what to do. This was a duty which had to be done, because they were both members of a royal family.

 

In May 1774, when King Louis XV died, his son succeeded him as King Louis XVI. Marie Antoinette was no longer a crown princess; she was the Queen of France.

 

During the first four years, while she was a crown princess, Marie did not feel at home at the royal palace. She was far from home in a foreign country. She did not really fit in. She was lost.

 

In 1774, when she became the Queen of France, her husband gave her a present: he gave her a small palace located in the park surrounding Versailles. This building is known as Petit Trianon. It was her personal property.

 

In 1774, Marie Antoinette was 18 years old, and when she received this present, she found a purpose in her life. 

 

She decided to renovate the building. She hired an architect to supervise the task, but she also took a personal role in this project.

 

Once the renovation of the Trianon was completed, she began to spend more time at this place.

 

She did not like life in the main building, because this life was public. She was never alone. She could not choose her own company. She was constantly followed and observed by members of the royal court.

 

Since the Trianon was her personal property, she could control access to this place.

 

She could go there to be alone. She could decide who was allowed to enter the place. She liked to go there and spend time with a few close friends.

 

Once the renovation of the Trianon was done, she began a second project: the area next to the Trianon was a botanical garden created by a former king.

 

She did not care much for this garden. She decided to replace it with an English garden. What is the difference between a French and an English garden?

 

A French garden is dominated by straight lines and symmetrical patterns. Bushes and trees are placed in straight lines, like soldiers in a parade. 

 

Much of the park surrounding Versailles is laid out as a French park.

 

An English Garden has a natural look. The landscape is not flat. There are hills. The footpath does not follow a straight line. There are curves. There is a river. But it does not follow a straight line. There are twists and turns.

 

As explained in the film, this is not nature, as it is. This is nature, as some people think it should be. Marie Antoinette liked this concept.

 

In her English garden there is a river and a hill with rocks; there is a circular monument known as the temple of love, inspired by the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome; and there is an octagonal tower known as the Belvedere.

 

Once again, she hired an architect to supervise the task. Once again, she also took a personal role in the project.

 

The renovation of the Trianon and the creation of the English garden gave her a purpose in life. She began to feel more at home at Versailles.

 

But many members of the royal court did not like what they saw. She was getting too independent. She could do what she wanted, because she was the queen.

 

Most members of the royal court could not do what they wanted. They were bound by a strict protocol which had developed since Louis XIV.

 

They were jealous of her. But they could not stop her, because the was the queen. Since they could not stop her, they did something else: they began to circulate negative rumours about her.

 

They began to complain about her.

 

They had two major complaints.

 

# 1. She was spending too much money on projects which were not necessary. In addition, she was losing huge amounts of money on gambling.

 

# 2. She had not produced an heir to the throne. Six-seven years after getting married, Marie and Louis still had no children.

 

The Austrian ambassador in France heard the negative rumours and the complaints. He was concerned. He reported to Marie’s mother in Vienna. Her mother was deeply concerned.

 

If the marriage did not produce an heir to the throne, the French king might cancel the marriage and send Marie back to her mother. In that case, the political alliance between the two countries would collapse.

 

This could not be allowed to happen. Marie’s mother took action. She sent one of her sons to France. He was told to have a personal talk with Marie as well as a personal talk with her husband. The son was told to find out what was wrong and to fix the problem, whatever it was.

 

The son travelled to France. He met with his sister and with her husband. Intimate details were discussed. They had to be discussed, because the relationship between Austria and France was in danger of falling apart if the young couple could not figure out how to have children.

 

It turned out Marie and Louis did not know much about how to make children. But now they were told what to do and they were told to get started! They did. A few months later, Marie could write a letter to her mother and tell her that she was pregnant.

 

It was good news. But in December 1778, when the child was born, it turned out that it was a daughter. The king needed a son. They had to try again.

 

Better luck next time!

 

During her life at Versailles, Marie Antoinette gave birth to four children; two daughters and two sons:

 

** Marie Therese (1778-1851)

** Louis Joseph (1781-1789)

** Louis Charles (1785-1795)

** Sophie Hélène (1786-1787)

 

As the chart shows, only one of the four children survived the years of the French revolution: the daughter Marie Therese.

 

Marie was interested in fashion. She became famous for the clothes she wore and for the way her hair was done.

 

As explained in the film, Marie Antoinette did not follow the trend. She was the trend!

 

Her interest in fashion made her popular with some, but it also made her unpopular with others. They said she spent too much money on fashion!

 

Most members of the royal court wore clothes made of silk. When Marie asked her designer to create a simple dress made of cotton, the workers of the silk industry complained, because her cotton dress was so popular that nobody wanted to order dresses made of silk.

 

In 1783, Marie began a new project. This time she wanted to create a small village in the far corner of the park surrounding Versailles. This village became known as the Queen’s Hamlet.

 

Twelve small buildings were constructed and placed in a semi-circle along an artificial lake. The project took three years. It was completed in 1786. This was only three years before the revolution broke out.

 

Once again, she hired an architect to supervise the task. Once again. She took a personal role in the project.

 

Marie liked to invite her close friends to have a picnic in the village. She also brought her children to the village in order to teach them about life in a rural village.

 

In this film, the focus is on the Trianon, on the English garden and in particular on the Queen’s Hamlet, which was falling apart.

 

The buildings were not built on a solid foundation. They were sinking. The buildings had not been maintained or renovated for many years.

 

Professional workers have now been hired to take care of these buildings. In the film, some of them are seen covered by a scaffold, while renovation is taking place. The exterior and the interior of these buildings must be restored.

 

Professional experts have also been hired to find original furniture, if this is possible. If this is not possible, the experts are looking for items which are similar to the original furniture.

 

What do reviewers say about this film?

 

Here are two answers:

 

On IMDb it has a rating of 70 percent, which corresponds to a rating of 3.5 stars on Amazon.

 

On Amazon France there are at the moment 15 ratings; three of them with a review.

 

The average rating is 3.7 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 74 percent.

 

In my opinion, both ratings are too low.

 

As stated above, this film offers a combination of talking heads and historical moments which have been reconstructed by actors.

 

The combination of talking heads and historical moments works very well.

 

The story of Marie Antoinette and her life at the Palace of Versailles is important. It deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.

 

If you are interested in the modern history of Europe - in particular the history of the years leading up to the French revolution - this film is definitely something for you.

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

PS. This film covers the time when Marie Antoinette lived at the Palace of Versailles (1770-1789). 

 

The final years of her life (1789-1793) are not covered in this film, because during those years she was no longer living at the Palace of Versailles.

 

REFERENCES

 

# 1. Books

 

Versailles: A Biography of a Palace

By Tony Spawforth

(2008)

 

Visit Versailles: A Guidebook

By Beatrix Saule & Mathieu da Vinha

(2012)

 

# 2. Film and video

 

The Rise and Fall of Versailles

(Three episodes)

(2008)

 

The Private Life of Marie Antoinette

(2008)

 

Marie Antoinette: The Trial of a Queen

(2018)

 

Marie Antoinette: The Doomed Queen

(2020)

 

*****

Le Versailles Secret de

Marie Antoinette

A documentary film 

which premiered in 2018

 

*****

Marie Antoinette

(Born 1755)

Crown princess 1770-1774

Queen of France 1774-1792

Executed 1793

This portrait of the queen 

was painted by

Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun

in 1783

 

*****

 

 

Fly With Me (2024)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fly With Me is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2024.

 

It is an episode of the long-running program American Experience (S36E02).

 

The topic of this film is the early history of American commercial airlines, more specifically the lives and experiences of the numerous women who were working on American airplanes.

 

At the time, they were known as stewardesses. If a man had the same job, he was known as a steward. 

 

The job description marked the gender. Just like a waitress or an actress is a woman, while a waiter or an actor is a man. These days, they are known as flight attendants. These days, the job description is gender-neutral.

 

This film about American stewardesses covers five decades of American airline history, beginning around 1930 and ending around 1980.

 

In the old days, there were not many options for a young woman in the US. A young woman was supposed to get married and have children. The role of a woman was to be a wife and a mother.

 

If a young woman was working before getting married, she might be a nurse or a secretary or perhaps a school teacher for a few years. But a woman was not supposed to have a career. This option was traditionally reserved for men.

 

The life of a stewardess seemed to be a dream job, because a stewardess could travel and see the world.

 

If she worked on domestic flights, she could visit all the famous American cities.

 

If she worked on international flights, she could visit European cities like London or Paris or Rome.

 

And she would be paid, while she was travelling to these new and exciting destinations.

 

Being a stewardess was regarded as a glamorous job. It was almost like being a movie star. A stewardess could go out on her own. She was not controlled by her parents or her brothers. She had a degree of freedom which was very unusual for those days.

 

When a young woman got the coveted job, she would soon realise that it was not always a dream job. This job also had some negative aspects.

 

The stewardesses were not treated in the same way as male members of staff. The owners and the managers of the airlines treated them as second-class citizens.

 

The stewardesses did not like this. They wanted equality. They wanted justice. This film is about the stewardesses and their struggle for equality and justice.

 

Here is some basic information about this film

 

** Directors: Sarah Colt and Helen Dubrowski

** Writer: Sarah Colt

** Producer: Helen Dubrowski

** Language: English

** Subtitles: English

** Run time: 112 minutes

 

Many persons are interviewed in this film. Some are former flight attendants, while others are professional historians and writers.

 

A few of them are former flight attendants who became writers later in life.

 

Two of them are lawyers who worked on the legal cases which were conducted in order to secure equality and justice for the stewardesses.

 

Here are the names of the participants

(listed in alphabetical order):

 

Kathleen Barry - historian

Mia Bay - historian

Keisha Blain - historian

Celeste Lansdale Brodigan - FA

 

Dorothy Sue Cobble - historian

Julia Cooke - writer

Pat Noisette Banks Emiston - FA

Sonia Pressman Fuentes - lawyer

 

Michael Gottesman - lawyer

Casey Grant – FA and writer

Kathleen Heenan - FA

Ann Hood – FA and writer

 

Patricia Ireland - writer

Mary Pat Laffey Inman - FA

Undra Mays - FA

Jean Montague - FA

 

Barbara “Dusty” Roads (1928-2023) - FA

Elaine Rock - writer

Phil Tiemeyer – historian

Victoria Vantoch - FA and writer

 

Here are some of the problems which stewardesses faced while working for the American airlines:

 

(1) Gender discrimination – male members of staff made more money and had more rights than female members of staff, even when they were doing the same job

 

(2) Stewardesses had to be single – male members of staff were allowed to marry

 

(3) Stewardesses had to leave the job at a very young age – for instance 32 or 35 – but there was no such rule for male members of staff

 

(4) The weight of a stewardess was checked with short intervals. If a stewardess was one pound over the limit, she was not allowed to work – there was no such rule for male members of staff.

 

(5) A stewardess was supposed to be obedient and submissive. She was not supposed to have opinions about anything. 

 

Especially if she had a negative opinion about the rules and regulations which the owners and the managers of the airlines had established. The owners and managers of the airlines were always men.

 

(6) The airlines wanted stewardesses who were young and who would work for a few years. When they retired, they would be replaced by other young women who would follow the same routine.

 

When a stewardess only worked for a short time, she would never build up a long experience. A long experience might build up confidence. A confident stewardess was likely to be less obedient and less submissive. More difficult to control. Less likely to accept the rules and regulations.

 

(7) A stewardess who only worked for a few years would always be paid a low salary. She could not work long enough to claim a better salary. She could not work long enough to build up a pension for life after she retired.

 

(8) When members of staff were checked into hotels at a foreign destination, a male member of staff was given a single room, but stewardesses were placed in double rooms.

 

(9) Stewardesses often faced sexism from male members of staff and from passengers.

 

(10) During the early years, the airlines only hired white women. The airlines refused to hire people who were brown or black.

 

Stewardesses were not feminists. Stewardesses were not members of the women’s liberation movement. But the conditions under which they worked turned many of them into feminists. Many of them became members of the women’s liberation movement.

 

The well-known activist Gloria Steinem supported the stewardesses and worked with them when they complained about discrimination in the workplace.

 

Stewardesses wanted equality and justice. When they asked for better conditions, the airlines refused to change the rules and regulations.

 

The stewardesses took the airlines to court. They decided to sue them, because the rules and regulations were unfair.

 

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 became an important tool in the struggle for equality and justice. This law was not only about civil rights for African Americans. It was also about equality and justice in the labor market.

 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was a federal agency which was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against discrimination in the workplace.

 

Sonia Pressman Fuentes was a lawyer who worked for the EEOC. She worked with stewardesses who contacted the commission, because they were faced with discrimination in the workplace.

 

The airlines did not give up without a fight. When they were sued in court, they often lost. When this happened, they simply appealed, because they refused to give in.

 

Some cases lasted many years, because the airlines were stubborn. In the old days, the owners and the managers had the power to do whatever they wanted. It was not easy for them to understand that the times were changing.

 

The airlines hoped they could appeal and stall so much that their opponents would be tired and surrender. They were wrong. The stewardesses did not give up. In the end, the airlines had to surrender.

 

What about the title of the film – Fly With Me – where does it come from? The title is a variation of a slogan that was used by National Airlines in 1971:

 

I’m Cheryl. Fly Me.

 

There is more than one way to interpret this slogan.

 

An innocent interpretation says:

 

“Come with me. Fly with me.”

 

But many women were offended. They said this slogan was aimed at male passengers. They said it was an open invitation to have sex with the flight attendant.

 

The slogan was created by advertising executive F. William Free (1928-2003).

 

The slogan caused women’s right groups to organize a protest outside his office in New York.

 

While the slogan was controversial, it was successful. The airline sold more tickets when this slogan was launched.

 

What do reviewers say about this film?

 

On IMDb it has a rating of 78 percent which correspond to a rating of 3.9 stars on Amazon. If you ask me, this rating is too low.

 

The story of the American stewardesses and their struggle for equality and justice is important. It deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

REFERENCES

 

# 1. Film and television series

 

Flying High

A television series

One season

1978-1979

 

Mile High

A television series

Two seasons

2003-2005

 

Pan Am

A television series

One season

2011-2012

 

Pan Am: 

The Rise and Fall of an Aviation Icon

A documentary film

Run time: 53 minutes

2022

 

# 2. Items available online

 

“Meet the Women

Who Changed the World

While Flying It,”

Think.tv

15 February 2024

 

Rob Owen,

“Flight attendants break gender,

pay barriers on PBS Fly With Me,”

The Seattle Times

16 February 2024

 

Liza Weisstuch,

“Glamour, Travel, Sexism:

When Flight Attendants Fought Back,”

New York Times

19 February 2024

 

# 3. Books

 

Femininity in Flight: 

A History of Flight Attendants

By Kathleen Barry

2007

 

The Jet-Sex: Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon

By Victoria Vantoch

2013

 

Plane Queer: Labor, Sexuality, and AIDS in the History of Male Flight Attendants

By Phil Tiemeyer

2013

 

Stars in the Sky: Stories of the First African American Flight Attendants

By Casey Grant

2018

 

Up in the Air: The Real Story of Life aboard the World’s Most Glamorous Airline

By Betty Riegel

2020

 

Come Fly the World:

The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am

By Julia Cooke

2021

 

Fly Girl – A Memoir

By Ann Hood

2022

 

The Great Stewardess Rebellion: How Women Launched a Work Place Revolution at 30,000 Feet

By Nell McShane Wulfhart

2022

 

True Tales of TWA Flight Attendants:

Memoirs and Memories from the Golden Age of Flying

Compiled by Kathy Kompare and Stephanie Johnson

2022

 

Dusty Roads:

How the Women’s Movement Took Flight

By Elaine Rock

2023

 

*****

Pan Am

A television series

One season 

2011-2012 

*****

Dusty Roads:

How the Women's 

Movement Took Flight

by Elaine Rock

(2023)

 

*****

I'm Cheryl. 

Fly Me.

The controversial but successful poster

launched by National Airlines 

in 1971

 

*****