Berenice (1670) marks a decisive point in Racine’s theatrical career, for with this play he found a felicitous combination of elements that he would use, without radical alteration, for the rest of his secular tragedies: a love interest, a relatively uncomplicated plot, striking rhetorical passages, and a highly poetic use of time. Berenice is built around the unusual premise of three characters who are ultimately forced to live apart because of their virtuous sense of duty. In the play, Titus, who is to become the new Roman emperor, and his friend Antiochus are both in love with Berenice, the queen of Palestine. The play’s “majestic sadness,” as Racine put it in his preface to the play, flows from the tragic necessity of separation for individuals who yearn for union with their beloved and who express their sorrow in some of the most haunting passages of Racine’s entire oeuvre. Reference: Encyclopedia Britannica. Online. http://www.eb.com
Credits: Director, Jean Kerchbron ; photography, Jacques Lemare.
Cast: Rene Arrieu, Jacques destoop, Sylvia Monfort, Marcelle Ransom, Jacques Dacqmines, William Sabatier.
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Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
X000364
Language
French
Subject category
Foreign language films
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)