Waterford Film For All presents The Count of Monte Cristo (2024)

Waterford Film For All presents The Count of Monte Cristo from directors Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière

This lavish French adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel, directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière, follows the dramatic arc of Edmond Dantès, a heroic sailor. Set in 1815, Edmond is wrongfully accused of Bonapartism and is arrested on the very day of his wedding.

After enduring fourteen gruelling years of brutal confinement in the infamous Château d’If prison, salvation arrives in the form of Abbé Faria, a well-educated priest. Faria not only teaches Edmond philosophy, science, languages and strategy, but also reveals the existence of a hidden treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. When Faria dies, Edmond escapes by concealing himself in his mentor’s burial sack, flung into the sea as a corpse.

Enlightened, educated and fabulously wealthy thanks to the hidden treasure revealed by his mentor, he reemerges as the enigmatic Count of Monte-Cristo, bent on enacting meticulously crafted vengeance against the three men who betrayed him.

As his enemies fall one by one, Edmond begins to confront the cost of his vengeance. The collateral suffering of innocents, the shadow it casts over his lost love Mercédès, and the loyalty of those who cross his path, force him to question whether justice has given way to obsession.

Ultimately, Edmond discovers that justice and revenge are not the same, and that redemption may demand more than retribution.

Festivals
Premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival

Awards
Cheval Noir Award for Best Film – Fantasia International Film Festival (Montreal, 2024)
Best Costume Design (Thierry Delettre) and Best Production Design – César Awards (France, 2025)
Best Cinematography – Lumières Awards (2025)
Golden Swan (Swann d’Or) for Best Film – Festival du Film de Cabourg (2024)
Audience Choice award – Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival

Reviews
“The Count of Monte Cristo is an energetic, entertaining treat” — RogerEbert.com

“Delaporte and de La Patellière perform the necessary surgery on the novel with efficiency and even elegance.” — Phil Hoad, The Guardian

“…doesn’t just deliver Dumas — it also serves as a reminder of the kind of movie Hollywood has forgotten how to make.” — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture

“it’s directed with verve and acted with gusto.” — Wendy Ide, The Observer