Maïwenn's film “Jeanne du Barry” with Johnny Depp as Louis XV

It has been a long time since such a handsome costume drama as Maïwenn's "Jeanne du Barry" came out. Johnny Depp plays Louis XV, and at precisely the age the actor himself is now. His influential 25-year-old favourite, however, is played by the 47-year-old Maïwenn. All the actors are on top form, but what impresses most is the respect and unfeigned delight with which Versailles is shown, and the care taken to render the daily life of the age, wherever possible, with documentary fidelity. Essential viewing.

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

In the finale of the Strugatskys' Roadside Picnic, the Golden Ball is told: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to offend nobody, but the digest really does come free of charge. So, here is the main business of the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

Maïwenn's film “Jeanne du Barry” with Johnny Depp as Louis XV

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s