There are two readings of
The Plague
.
We can consider it as a parable of fascism and the way we react to its surge.
Or immerse yourself, at first level, in the story of individuals who, trapped in a pandemic –
“this scourge which is not capable of man”
– will fight even if they have little hope of triumph.
Yes, this classic by Camus, still studied in college, was a good companion in confinement.
It has also recorded sales records in France, but also in Italy, where it rose to third place among the most read foreign novels.
After this period of collective confinement, producer Georges-Marc Benamou, former confidant of François Mitterrand and native of Algeria, like Camus, acquired the rights to
The Plague
to make a series.
To discover
TV tonight: our selection of the day
Taciturn characters, not very sensitive to emotions, who do not give themselves principles greater than their character.
Vast ambition to metabolize the greatness of a work where the heroes have nothing extraordinary and who, at no moment, give in to the hope that their fight can have a favorable outcome.
Taciturn characters, not very sensitive to emotions, who do not give themselves principles greater than their character.
Which doesn't really seem to sell for a TV drama.
And how can we bring this clinical writing to the screen?
By taking liberties with the work while carefully preserving the spirit, this
“obstinacy which takes the place of love”,
as Camus wrote.
This is the strength of this series in four episodes, broadcast from Monday March 4 on France 2, to show the modernity of
La Peste
and to have found in Frédéric Pierrot a magnificent Dr Rieux, a luminous illustration
"that there is more in men to admire than to despise.”