14/05/2003 - Gèrard Krawczyk's swashbuckling and adventurous 18th century costume drama is also a love story between Cruz and Vincent Perez

The Croisette will be buzzing with excitement tonight when the 56th Cannes Film Festival gets underway with the star-studded gala screening of Gérard Krawczyk’s swashbuckling 18th century costume drama, Fanfan la Tulipe [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. It is a remake of the 1952 classic starring Gina Lollobrigida and Gérard Philipe that won filmmaker, Christian-Jaque, the best director award that year. Set in the reign of King Louis XV of France, the film stars Penelope Cruz and Vincent Perez and is a swashbuckling romantic adventure about Fanfan (Perez) and his love for the beauteous Adeline la Franchise (Cruz). The cast is completed by Didier Bourdon as the French monarch and Hélène de Fougerolles as Madame Pompadour.
Penelope Cruz stymied the massed ranks of the world’s press when her companion, Tom Cruise, failed to materialise at her side. Speaking at today’s press conference, the Iberian star expressed her “delight” at being at such an “important event”, adding that Cannes was the “perfect” showcase for this film. When asked what it felt like to be stepping into the shoes (or rather corsets...) of screen legend Gina Lollobrigida, the modest Cruz said that her predecessor was “impossible to imitate”.
Fanfan la Tulipe is another sweeping and spectacular film for Gérard Krawczyk, who is proved his skill in this field with recent hits like Taxi 2, Taxi 3 and Wasabi.
"I saw the film as a child and I still remember the excitement I felt," said Krawczyk. "That is also why I decided to respect the original even though the modern aspects of the story gradually emerged as the film progressed."
Fanfan la Tulipe was produced by Luc Besson through his Europa Corp slate. He also wrote the screenplay with Jean Cosmos and this film reflects Besson’s propensity for making big-budget films that reintroduce French audiences to popular national heroes.

(Translated from Italian)