Directed by:
Safy NebbouCinematography:
Stéphane FontaineComposer:
Hugues Tabar-NouvalCast:
Gérard Depardieu, Benoît Poelvoorde, Mélanie Thierry, Dominique Blanc, Michel Aumont, Catherine Mouchet, Jean-Christophe Bouvet, Florence Pernel (more)Plots(1)
Alexandre Dumas père, was an astonishingly prolific and successful writer. In just three years, between 1843 and 1846, he published what were to
become his most successful novels: "Les trios mousquetaires" ("The Three Musketeers"), "La reine Margot" ("Queen Margot") and "Le comte de Monte-Cristo" ("The Count of Monte Cristo"). Dumas' novels are not merely exciting to read, they are also meticulously researched and well-written. This extraordinary output can only be managed with the aid of a reliable assistant; such a person not only needs to be able to find the right source material in libraries and archives, he also needs to have a talent for writing and the ability to invent characters and ideas for a plot. August Maquet is one such partner. He is the complete antithesis of the extrovert bon vivant that Dumas presents to Parisian society. An incisive analyst and well-read author who knows his way around libraries and archives, Maquet is not desirous of a life in the limelight. However, when Maquet tries to impress a fervent Dumas admirer named Charlotte Desrives by claiming to be the true author of these phenomenally successful books, the mood turns sour between the two men. A bitter fight ensues which, in 1858, leads to a court battle over the copyright ownership of these works, at the end of which Maquet is assigned a twenty percent share – albeit without the right to be mentioned as a contributing author. Alexandre Dumas' remains were later interred in the Panthéon of Paris; however, when he died, Maquet was buried in an anonymous grave in the cemetery at Père-Lachaise.
(Berlinale)
Cast
![Gérard Depardieu](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/529/160529108_0a4e75.png)
Gérard Depardieu
France
Best movies:
Jean de Florette (1986)
Two Men in Town (1973)
Shut Up! (2003)
![Benoît Poelvoorde](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/148/163148929_60d0ca.png)
Benoît Poelvoorde
Belgium
Best movies:
A Town Called Panic (2009)
Aaltra (2004)
Ghislain Lambert's Bicycle (2001)
![Mélanie Thierry](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/828/160828594_3c290c.png)
Mélanie Thierry
France
Best movies:
The Hollow Crown (2012) (series)
The Legend of 1900 (1998)
The Inverse Canon (2000)
![Dominique Blanc](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/271/271914_59c31a.jpg)
Dominique Blanc
France
Best movies:
L'Allée du roi (1996) (series)
May Fools (1990)
Story of Women (1988)
![Michel Aumont](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/273/273115_caa3e6.jpg)
Michel Aumont
France
Best movies:
Shut Up! (2003)
The Count of Monte Cristo (1998) (series)
A Sunday in the Country (1984)
![Catherine Mouchet](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/756/160756201_bdd428.png)
Catherine Mouchet
France
Best movies:
Thérèse (1986)
The Specials (2019)
Mortal Transfer (2001)
![Jean-Christophe Bouvet](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/909/159909547_7dca6a.jpg)
Jean-Christophe Bouvet
France
Best movies:
The Count of Monte Cristo (1998) (series)
Savage Nights (1992)
Our Music (2004)
![Florence Pernel](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/165/595/165595563_42ca55.jpg)
Florence Pernel
France
Best movies:
Three Colors: Blue (1993)
Three Colours: White (1994)
Napoléon (2002) (series)
![Michel Duchaussoy](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/281/281272_da4f11.jpg)
Michel Duchaussoy
France
Best movies:
L'Allée du roi (1996) (series)
The French Revolution (1989) (TV movie)
The Longest Day (1962)
![Alexis Michalik](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/531/160531520_1224ef.png)
Alexis Michalik
France
Best movies:
Edmond (2018)
The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan (2023)
At Eternity's Gate (2018)
![Safy Nebbou](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/909/159909546_750381.jpg)
Safy Nebbou
France
Best movies:
The Giraffe's Neck (2004)
Dumas (2010)
![Chloé Coulloud](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/344/162344883_bf4b6e.png)
Chloé Coulloud
Best movies:
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (2010)
Neuilly Yo Mama! (2009)
Nicolas Le Floch (2008) (series)
![Dominique Marcas](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/040/844/40844697_dd102f.jpg)
Dominique Marcas
France
Best movies:
The Bohemian Life (1992)
L'Appel du destin (1953)
The Exchange Student (1967)
![Ophélia Kolb](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/196/163196059_913bfa.jpg)
Ophélia Kolb
France
Best movies:
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (2010)
Those Who Remain (2007)
The Escape of Louis XVI (2008)
![Pascal Demolon](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/730/160730956_4dbced.png)
Pascal Demolon
France
Best movies:
I've Loved You So Long (2008)
Land and Freedom (1995)
Fragments of Antonin (2006)
Daniel Isoppo
Best movies:
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (2010)
Le Pari (1997)
13 (2005)
Philippe Larue
France
Best movies:
Dumas (2010)
Luc-Antoine Diquéro
Best movies:
The Edge of the Blade (2023)
The Loner (1987)
La Balance (1982)
![Philippe Magnan](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/525/161525855_1af464.png)
Philippe Magnan
Best movies:
L'Affaire Salengro (2009) (TV movie)
The Children of the Marshland (1999)
Ridiculous (1996)
![Philippe Vieux](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/742/162742200_603d33.jpg)
Philippe Vieux
Best movies:
Love Is in the Air (2005)
The Closet (2001)
Rolling to You (2018)