Notre-Dame Brûle
With dramatic reconstructions, digital effects and the splicing in of amateur video, social media material and genuine news footage – President Macron himself appears at one stage to be talking to an actor playing the fire chief – Annaud rips a pretty high-octane adventure from the headlines.
A terrifying blaze, flying buttresses about to collapse and molten lead pouring from the roof on to the believers below. There are some startling scenes showing cathedral officials desperately trying to rescue the most precious possessions: the Crown of Thorns, a vial of Christ’s blood, a fragment of the true cross and a nail from the crucifixion.
Annaud’s clever blend of archive footage and slickly staged reconstructions offer a fascinating account of behind-the-scenes disasters.