French Revolution drama to kick off Berlin film festival

The German-born Hollywood actress leads a French cast that includes Lea Seydoux, who appeared in last year's Woody Allen hit “Midnight in Paris,” and Virginie Ledoyen, best known abroad for her turn in “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio.

The festival opener, directed by France's Benoit Jacquot, tells the story of the frantic last hours at Versailles palace from the point of view of the servants.

The French-Spanish co-production is one of 18 pictures vying for the Golden Bear top prize at the first major European film festival of the year, which tends to reward timely, politically charged cinema.

Festival director Dieter Kosslick said he chose the film for the opening in part due to the parallels it draws with today's popular uprisings including the Arab Spring and the Occupy movement against corporate greed.

“It's been a year since (Egyptian leader) Hosni Mubarak was driven out of office and I suspect that the last 48 hours that he and the other despots had didn't look much different than Marie Antoinette's,” he told reporters.

Filmed on location at Versailles, southwest of Paris, the picture is a screen adaptation of Chantal Thomas' prize-winning novel of the same name.

Last year's Golden Bear went to the Iranian family drama “A Separation” by Asghar Farhadi, which also swept the acting prizes and is now nominated for an Academy Award as best foreign language picture.

Farhadi will this year serve on the jury, led by British director Mike Leigh and including actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Barbara Sukowa, photographer Anton Corbijn, director Francois Ozon and writer Boualem Sansal.

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