Set mostly in France’s famed Provence region during the infamous 1832 cholera epidemic, Angelo (Olivier Martinez) is an exiled Hussard nobleman headed back to Italy to join the revolution against the Austrian Empire. Pauline de Theus (Juliette Binoche) is the wife of a wealthy marquis simply trying to make her way north to her husband. Together, they brave the best and the worst of a harsh yet beautiful 19th-century world, finding solace and dignity in their mutual resolve to survive. This is a ravishing spectacle of epic proportions, a rousing blend of swashbuckling adventure, chivalrous romance and intense human drama. Esteemed cowriters Jean-Claude Carriere, Nina Companeez and director Rappeneau fashioned an exceedingly literate yet accessible script of which novelist Giono would undoubtedly be proud.