{"id":1874,"date":"2023-04-23T04:02:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-23T11:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/?p=1874"},"modified":"2023-05-08T16:03:23","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T23:03:23","slug":"chevalier-stunning-story-about-a-black-french-artist-who-history-forgot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/2023\/chevalier-stunning-story-about-a-black-french-artist-who-history-forgot\/","title":{"rendered":"Chevalier * Stunning Story About A Black French Artist Who History Forgot"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-medium is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CHEVALIER.poster-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1880\" width=\"102\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CHEVALIER.poster-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CHEVALIER.poster.jpg 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 102px) 100vw, 102px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Inspired by the incredible true story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr. in a tour de force performance) rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair and a falling out with Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) and her court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>KIDS FIRST! Film Critic David E. comments, \u201cI really like <em>Chevalier<\/em>, because of its story about segregation in France when Black people were slaves. I like the violin aspect of it as well.\u201d See his full review below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chevalier<br>By David E., KIDS FIRST!\u00a0 Film Critic, age 12<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Enjoy David E.&#039;s  review of  Chevalier\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lLLbbZob1_k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/chevalier.a-300x187.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1879\" width=\"225\" height=\"140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/chevalier.a-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/chevalier.a-768x479.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/chevalier.a.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the film CHEVALIER. Photo by Larry Horricks. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. \u00a9 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>I really like <em>Chevalier<\/em>, because of its story about segregation in France when Black people were slaves. I like the violin aspect of it as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The story takes place in 18th century Paris and is inspired by the incredible life of composer Joseph Bolognue, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Bolognue, rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair and a falling out with Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) and her court.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-medium is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Chevalier.c-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1877\" width=\"225\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Chevalier.c-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Chevalier.c-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Chevalier.c.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kelvin Harrison Jr., Samara Weaving and Alex Fizalan in the film CHEVALIER. Photo by Larry Horricks. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. \u00a9 2023 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>I really enjoyed the storyline. It is amazing and really shows us what life was like in the 18th century. The pace is intentionally slow and that&#8217;s what makes it so good. It reminds me of a great meal that you would just want to savor. You can really imagine it taking place in your mind. The camerawork is excellent; it makes you feel as if you are in parts of the scene. Production on this film began on September 7, 2021, in Prague, Czech Republic and ended in November 2021. The setting was supposed to take place in France and the sets and locations really look very French. Kelvin Harrison Jr. gives a tour de force performance as Joseph Bolognue \/ Chevalier. He blew me away with his performance. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Chevalier.b-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1878\" width=\"225\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Chevalier.b-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Chevalier.b-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Chevalier.b.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the film CHEVALIER. Photo by Larry Horricks. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. \u00a9 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Samara Weaving\u2019s portrayal of the Queen uses a rude and not too shabby voice and she changes sides like when you flip a light switch. Lucy Boynton, the love interest of Bolognue, seems to be a typical woman who men fall in love with. I didn&#8217;t feel the inclusion of her as his love interest added much to the storyline. I don&#8217;t particularly care for the film\u2019s ending, but it does kick off the French revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The message of this film is never try to get rid of a Black man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I give <em>Chevalier <\/em>4.5out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. It is available in movie theaters beginning April 21, 2023<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Inspired by the incredible true story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr. in a tour de force performance) rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair and a falling out with Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) and her court.<\/p>\n<p>KIDS FIRST! Film Critic David E. comments, \u201cI really like Chevalier, because of its story about segregation in France when Black people were slaves. I like the violin aspect of it as well.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[1843,892,278,1847,1854,1851,261,1853,1844,1840,1848,1845,1846,1842,1850,891,1856,263,220,1852,1855,1849,1857,1859,1858,1841],"class_list":["post-1874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film-critics-blog","tag-andrew-lowe","tag-biography","tag-by-kids-for-kids","tag-chevalier","tag-chevalier-movie-review","tag-dianne-mcgunigle","tag-drama","tag-ed-guiney","tag-france","tag-french-revolution","tag-history","tag-kelvin-harrison-jr","tag-kris-bowers","tag-lucy-boynton","tag-marie-antoinette","tag-michael-abels","tag-minnie-driver","tag-movie","tag-movie-reviews","tag-mozart","tag-samara-weaving","tag-searchlight","tag-stefani-robinson","tag-stephen-williams","tag-violin","tag-violinist"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1874"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1881,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874\/revisions\/1881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/juror\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}