REICHSTADT - THE TRAGEDY OF FRANCIS NAPOLEON CHARLES JOSEPH

By Dean DRINKEL

EL LUPO FILMS - as PROD

Historical - Pre-Production 2020

They stripped him of his name. They stripped him of his titles. They stripped him of his sanity. But they could not strip him of his soul.

Festivals
& Awards

Monaco International Film Festival 2016
Best Historical Screenplay
Monaco International Film Festival 2016
Independent Spirit Award
    • Year of production
    • 2020
    • Genres
    • Historical, True Story, Drama
    • Countries
    • FRANCE, AUSTRIA, GERMANY, UNITED KINGDOM, ITALY
    • Languages
    • FRENCH, GERMAN, ENGLISH
    • Budget
    • 5 - 10 M$
    • Duration
    • 120 mn
    • Director(s)
    • Dean DRINKEL
    • Writer(s)
    • Dean DRINKEL, Romain COLLIER
    • Producer(s)
    • Neil O'NEIL (Little Napoleon Films), Pam SHOKER-TEXEIRA (Little Napoleon Films), Romain COLLIER (Little Napoleon Films)
    • Synopsis
    • 1830.

      Napoleon Francois Charles Joseph Bonaparte – Napoleon Bonaparte’s son and heir, known as Franz the Duke of Reichstadt, lives in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna.

      He has been excluded from public life and exiled from the country of his birth – he is alone.

      However, his life begins to transform when, by chance, he meets the poet, Auguste Barthelemey, who writes a damning poem about the Duke – Franz’s eyes open.

      This poem, THE SON OF A MAN, arouses the temper of the Austrian Chancellor Metternich who has always hated the Bonapartes with a passion and views Franz as a thorn in his side.

      Metternich arranges for the arrest and imprisonment of the poet and believes that by doing so, the French will forget all about Franz and that the Duke will forget that he was ever an heir to France.

      In reality however, it has the opposite effect and Franz is spurred on to read, to learn, to study about himself, about his father and is then introduced to Major Anthon Prokesch (who wrote several pro-Napoleon books) who quickly becomes the Duke’s friend and mentor – Franz blossoms.

      The Chancellor does everything he can to destroy Franz once and for all but at the same time convinces the Duke that one day he will rule a kingdom as monarch.

      Various thrones within the Austrian Empire are offered but then rejected by Franz because Metternich intimates that if he waits (and because of the instability within) France will finally be his and he will sit on his father’s throne.

      But just as it seems that Franz will finally fulfil his destiny, his life is snatched away from him – Franz falls ill and dies a broken man.

      Because that is the worst tragedy of all isn’t it?

      To give someone hope and then, at the last moment, snatch it away from them…