On the 13th of May, the French Year 10 and 12 students had the opportunity to visit the Cine Lumiere, a famous art deco French Cinema in the heart of South Kensington, for a screening of “Le Comte de Monte Cristo”, a 2024 box office success in France with over 9 million tickets sold.

This historical, action-adventure film set in Post-Revolution France, is based on the 1844 epic novel by Alexandre Dumas and tells the story of Edmond Dantès, a captain, who finds himself incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. After enduring fourteen years of imprisonment, he eventually engineers his escape, and embarks on a meticulously crafted quest for vengeance, assuming multiple identities. It provided students with a valuable opportunity to reflect on the similarities and differences between this film and others studied on the course. Despite its three-hour runtime, the film was thoroughly enjoyed by the students and clearly deepened their interest in French cinema, history and culture.