3 good reasons to wait for “Eiffel” with Romain Duris and Emma Mackey

It is one of the most famous monuments in France, and arguably the most emblematic of Paris. Built in the space of two years, for the Universal Exhibition of 1889, the Eiffel Tower retains a part of the mystery that is at the heart of Martin Bourboulon’s feature film, in theaters on October 13. For his first historical film, the director of Mom or dad saw the big picture, without neglecting the human dimension of the company …

It is in the Backlot 217 studio, located in the Paris region on a former air base, that Martin Bourboulon and his teams rebuilt part of the Eiffel Tower to life size. Digital magic, it fits into the majestic and chaotic backdrop of the capital at the end of the 19th century. The film evoking the youthful years of Gustave Eiffel, the filmmaker also set up his cameras in Gironde, near the Cubzac road bridge which was one of the first great successes of the French engineer.

If “Eiffel” fills the eyes, Martin Bourboulon has doubled his plot of the more intimate story of the impossible romance between Gustave Eiffel and Adrienne Bourgès, a young woman from the Bordeaux bourgeoisie. When they meet he is 29 years old, she is 18. Their unexpected reunion, while the engineer is widower of the mother of his children, would be at the origin of the decision of Gustave Eiffel to build the Eiffel Tower then that he was more passionate about the Paris metro project.

To embody Gustave Eiffel, Martin Bourboulon has thought of no one other than Romain Duris. In turn dark, elated, melancholy and sparkling, the actor gives a welcome depth to a historical figure much less known than his monumental constructions. In front of him, it is the Franco-British Emma Mackey who interprets Adrienne with ardor and conviction. The star of the series Sex Education plays here its first major role in the language of Molière. And something tells us that it is not the last …