Sunday 20 May 2012

Marie et Mere

If you grew up in Indonesia in the mid 1990's (or Japan in the 1970's), chances are you remember "Rose of Versailles", Ryoko Ikeda's serialized books on Oscar de Jarjayes, the fictional personal guard of Marie Antoinette. I recently found out that in 1978 it was adapted into the big screen by Kitty Production (a subsidiary of Toho) with an all-European cast, making it a joint production of Europe and Japan. In the lead role is British actress Catriona MacColl. The movie is called "Lady Oscar", just like the anime that was aired in Indonesia in the '90s.

After "Lady Oscar", MacColl has so far starred in indie productions, some of which are slasher horrors. Her latest appearance is in a 2011 slasher "The Theatre Bizarre", where she plays a character called Mere Antoinette. I've done my research and found no evidence that "Mere Antoinette" was named after Marie Antoinette ("The Theatre Bizarre" is indeed inspired by Grand Guignol in Paris). But whether or not "Mere Antoinette" was named after the French queen, it's noteworthy that MacColl played a character alongside "Marie Antoinette" early in her career.

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