Emile Zola Nana

Rédigée entre L'Assommoir et Nana, en 1878, Une page d'amour d'Émile Zola correspond à une période de répit dans les turbulences des Rougon-Macquart, formidable tableau de la société française d'un XIXe siècle finissant. C'est l'histoire d'Hélène Grandjean, veuve, retirée avec sa fille Jeanne, aux portes de Paris, à Passy. Prise de convulsions, Jeanne est traitée par le docteur Deberle. Entre le médecin et la mère, un coup de foudre réciproque va bouleverser les habitudes des uns et des autres. Des bouleversements que Jeanne ne pourra longtemps supporter…

Émile Zola, nato a Parigi nel 1840, è uno dei massimi scrittori europei dell’Ottocento. Fin da giovane poté lavorare nel campo dell’editoria e nel 1864 pubblicò il suo primo libro, Contes à Ninon. Da allora continuò a scrivere senza sosta fino alla morte, causata dalle esalazioni di una stufa nella sua casa di Parigi nel 1902, mentre stava lavorando; le modalità della sua fine fecero nascere il sospetto che fosse stato assassinato. È molto noto il suo J’accuse, il pamphlet con cui lo scrittore denuncia al presidente della Repubblica francese tutte le irregolarità e le ingiustizie commesse durante il processo al capitano ebreo Alfred Dreyfus, e a causa del quale Zola fu costretto a fuggire per un periodo in Inghilterra.

Fictionalized account of the life of famed French author Emile Zola. As portrayed in the film, he was a penniless writer sharing an apartment in Paris with painter Paul Cezanne when he finally wrote a best-seller, Nana. He has always had difficulty holding onto a job as he is quite outspoken, being warned on several occasions by the public prosecutor that he risks charges if he does not temper his writings. The bulk of the film deals with his involvement in the case of Captain Alfred Dreyfus who was falsely convicted of giving secret military information to the Germans and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devils Island. Antisemitism played an important role in the real-life case but is hardly mentioned in the film. Even after the military found definitive evidence that Dreyfus was innocent, the army decided to cover it up rather than face the scandal of having arbitrarily convicted the wrong man. Zola's famous letter, J'Accuse (I Accuse), led to his own trial for libel where he was found guilty and forced to flee to England. Dreyfus was eventually exonerated and restored to his military rank.