Sign In / Sign Up

Notre-Dame on Fire

Notre-Dame on Fire
Release date: 2022-03-16
Rating: 6.6
Votes: 266
Genres: Drama, Thriller
A film relating from the inside the Notre-Dame de Paris fire of April 2019.

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

Just imagine. A builder on the roof of this ancient monument is having a fly cigarette. He throws the butt from the rooftop but instead of finding it's way to the ground, it is blown through one of the slitted windows whereupon it encounters some debris from a pigeon's nest and - well quite literally all hell breaks lose. Jean-Jacques Annaud intersperses real footage of this terrible conflagration with a drama offering us a plausible depiction of just how difficult it was for the Pompiers of Paris to not only tackle this blaze, but to get through the grid-locked streets of their city to the Île de la Cité in the first place. There is a palpable sense of the heat, the smoke - and the fear as the fire fighters tried to coax the water pressure into a meaningful tool to put out the fire whilst what seemed like gallons of molten lead slurped around the roof using the gargoyles as did Charles Laughton back in 1939. The dramatic elements are adequate, but to be honest they don't really matter - most of this is eye-watering. Certainly, you are pretty clearly aware of what is real and what has been staged - the intimate photography leaves us in little doubt of that, but again that doesn't really matter. This film demonstrates the courage and bravery of those tasked with stopping history burning down around them, whilst building on the response nightmare and the religiosity of those who can't quite believe God is allowing this to happen at all! It is all told pacily and effectively in just under two hours. What I really found irritating - exasperating, even, were all the spectators clogging everywhere up - so long as they had a vantage point then the emergency services could wait their turn... Fascinating to watch, and well worth it.

Movie Recommendation

  • SAGRADA: El misteri de la creació
    SAGRADA: El misteri de la creació
    2012-08-04
    Gaudi's Sagrada Familia has been continuously under construction since 1882.
    More...
  • D-?
    D-?
    2003-01-01
    In 2002, I am 19 years old, and I am a senior in high school 50 days before the college entrance exam.
    More...
  • The Sinfluencer of Soho
    The Sinfluencer of Soho
    2021-10-01
    How Anna Sorokin, known as the "Soho Grifter," fascinated the world and conned the highest social circles into believing she was a German heiress worth millions.
    More...
  • Fais pas ci, fais pas ça - On va marcher sur la Lune
    Fais pas ci, fais pas ça - On va marcher sur la Lune
    2024-12-05
    There is no description
    More...
  • Bon Voyage
    Bon Voyage
    2003-04-16
    On the eve of World War II four Parisians cope with the impending invasion of their city by German forces. While the French government braces for impact, the intersected lives of a young writer, a vain movie star, a French politician and a young scientist are examined as they attempt to deal with war and evade German spies.
    More...
  • Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno
    Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno
    2009-10-01
    In 1964, Henri-Georges Clouzot's production of L'Enfer came to a halt. Despite huge expectations, major studio backing and an unlimited budget, after three weeks the production collapsed. This documentary presents Inferno's incredible expressionistic original rushes, screen tests, and on-location footage, whilst also reconstructing Clouzot's original vision, and shedding light on the ill-fated endeavor through interviews, dramatizations of unfilmed scenes, and Clouzot's own notes.
    More...
  • The Time of Secrets
    The Time of Secrets
    2022-03-23
    Marseille, July 1905. Nearly a teenager, Marcel Pagnol embarks in his last summer vacation before high school and returns, at last, to his beloved hills in Provence. What begins as a summer of boyhood adventures becomes one of the first loves, and unearthed secrets.
    More...
  • Dead Zone
    Dead Zone
    2022-07-29
    To stop the collapse of humanity, an elite team of soldiers must descend on a radiation-poisoned town and perform the ultimate stealth mission using high-tech armor and weapons.
    More...
  • The Survivalist
    The Survivalist
    2021-12-02
    A year and a half after the fall of civilization from a virus outbreak, a former FBI agent is forced to protect a young woman, who is immune to the disease, from a dangerous gang hunting her led by a psychopath who believes he’s going to use her to save the world.
    More...
  • Awake
    Awake
    2019-08-01
    A man wakes in a hospital bed with no recollection of who he is, and learns that he's wanted by the police for a committing a series of murders.
    More...
  • Per tutta la vita
    Per tutta la vita
    2021-11-11
    Four married couples find out their marriage is invalid because it was officiated by a fraudulent priest and have to decide what to do next.
    More...
  • Le Mans
    Le Mans
    1971-06-23
    Filmed during the annual 24-hour endurance race at Le Mans, Michael Delaney is a Porsche driver haunted by the memory of an accident at the previous year's race in which a competing driver was killed. Delaney also finds himself increasingly infatuated with the man's widow.
    More...
  • Permis de construire
    Permis de construire
    2021-11-15
    When his father passes away, a dentist in Paris inherits a plot and the will to build a house on it. The situation becomes tricky when he learns the plot is located in Corsica.
    More...
  • The Fanatic
    The Fanatic
    2019-08-30
    A rabid film fan stalks his favorite action hero and destroys the star's life.
    More...
  • Goliath
    Goliath
    2022-03-09
    Patrick is a tenacious lawyer specializing in environmental law. France is a schoolteacher who becomes an activist after her husband develops cancer from exposure to a pesticide. Mathias is an ambitious lobbyist working for an international chemical corporation. The paths of these characters collide as the lives of thousands are affected by a tragic act that sparks a powerful movement while the corporation fights to prevent the truth from being revealed.
    More...
  • Kitchen Brigade
    Kitchen Brigade
    2022-01-20
    Cathy is a sous-chef wanting to open a restaurant. With financial difficulties, Cathy accepts a job at a shelter for young migrants. At first she hates the job then her passion for cuisine starts to change children's lives.
    More...
  • Another World
    Another World
    2022-02-16
    An executive manager, his wife and his family, at the point when his professional choices are about to overturn all their lives. Philippe Lemesle and his wife are separating, their love irretrievably damaged by pressures of work. A successful executive in industrial conglomerate, Philippe no longer knows how to respond to the contradictory demands of his bosses. Yesterday they wanted a manager, today an enforcer. Now he must decide what his life really means.
    More...
  • Rise
    Rise
    2022-03-30
    Elise thought she had the perfect life: an ideal boyfriend and a promising career as a ballet dancer. It all falls apart the day she catches him cheating on her with her stage backup; and after she suffers an injury on stage, it seems like she might not be able to dance ever again.
    More...
  • Your Christmas or Mine?
    Your Christmas or Mine?
    2022-12-02
    Students Hayley and James are young and in love. After saying goodbye for Christmas at a London train station, they both make the same mad split-second decision to swap trains and surprise each other. Passing each other in the station, they are completely unaware that they have just swapped Christmases.
    More...
  • The Perfect Dinner
    The Perfect Dinner
    2022-04-26
    Carmine is a Neapolitan mafioso who isn’t cut out for the criminal life. Under the protection of his boss Pasquale, Carmine is sent north to run a money laundering operation through a restaurant. He simply needs to defrost frozen meals, issue receipts and dinner is served. But everything changes when he meets Consuelo, a chef who always pursues perfection and dreams of winning a Michelin star. Carmine hires her and decides to transform the establishment into a high-end restaurant. Could the love for food and dream of winning a Michelin star give them both a second chance?
    More...

Similar Movies