The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Georges Bess

Georges Bess masterfully adapts Victor Hugo’s classic novel of unrequited love set in the midst of medieval Paris in 1482 as it takes its turns toward the modern era. Quasimodo, a deformed bellringer in Notre Dame cathedral, is hopelessly in love with the gypsy girl Esmeralda who has falsely been condemned as a witch by the archdeacon. In hopes of saving her from a fiery fate, he hides her in the cathedrals tower, but safety isn’t as assured as simply staying out of sight. The Notre-Dame Cathedral casts a shadow over the entire tale, both literally and figuratively.

After the success of his previous adaptations of both Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Georges Bess returns with an adaptation of one of the most emblematic works of French literature, delivering a magnificent historical epic and romantic fresco paying homage to the richness of the original novel. Bess seizes the myth with his imposing graphic mastery and a black & white palette as bewitching as Esmeralda’s gaze. It’s a tour de force of great spectacle, intense and sumptuous, populated by legendary characters.