2015 • 90' • French & English
Director(s): Herlé Jouon • Producer(s): Grand Angle Productions • Coproducer(s): ARTE • Format(s): HD
The Machine… that was the name given to the raft of the Medusa by those whose sorry task was to build and launch it at the height of the storm. 148 sailors and one woman, willingly or not, were heaped aboard this makeshift craft. 7 were to survive. Many people know Gericault’s magnificent and frightening painting. But who knows the real story that lies behind this world-famous painting? Using a double investigation - one contemporary carried out by a passionate historian and one from the past carried out by Gericault for the creation of his work - The Machine invites the viewer on a voyage to rediscover piece by piece this astonishing page in our colonial and maritime history. The Raft of the Medusa is not only a painting. On the eve of its 200th anniversary, it’s time to shed the full light upon it…