‘The Rose of Versailles' opts for empty opulence
Riyoko Ikeda's 'The Rose of Versailles,' which ran from 1972 to 1973, is one of Japan's seminal works of
shōjo manga
(comics traditionally aimed at a young female audience).
Through her fictionalized account of the French Revolution, Ikeda explored themes of political and sexual upheaval, bringing new levels of complexity to the genre. A successful anime adaptation, which aired for 40 episodes between 1979 and 1980, plus spinoffs, sequels and multiple musical adaptations by the all-female theater troupe Takarazuka Revue, have further cemented the reputation of Ikeda's tale. Now comes a new adaptation, an animated theatrical film — and even days after seeing the movie, I'm struggling to figure out why it exists.
'The Rose of Versailles' begins a few years before the revolution and centers on two women: the real-life Marie Antoinette (voiced by Aya Hirano), the Austrian princess sent to marry the future king of France to foster peace between their two nations, and the fictional Oscar Francois de Jarjayes (Miyuki Sawashiro), raised by her father as a man to become commander of the royal guards. At first, Oscar protects the young Marie with fierce loyalty, but as the years go by and the people of France suffer under the oblivious Marie and Louis XVI (Fukushi Ochiai), Oscar begins to sympathize with the country's revolutionary elements.
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