Le voyage du prince

Tom often wanders alone through the woods. The inquisitive boy lives with his adoptive parents – two scientists in exile – on the outskirts of a large city. One day, he comes across a stranger at the seashore. A man who speaks a foreign language and seems to be one big riddle. His clothes are woven from the finest fabrics – could he be a prince? But where does he come from? Might there be another life beyond the great water after all? This is precisely what Tom’s adoptive father claims, but what the Grand Council dismisses as humbug. This prince could change everything. The father zealously begins to prepare a report about him in order to convince the Grand Council of his theory. Initially, the prince rebuffs any interest in his person, for he is too fascinated by this new world in which he has become stranded. Together with Tom, he sets out to explore it. But the hearing with the Grand Council is getting ever closer. And thereafter, nothing is the way it used to be.
In 2017, Fantoche celebrated the work of Jean-François Laguionie with a retrospective. “Le voyage du prince”, which had its world premiere at this year’s Annecy Festival, is a philosophical narrative, true to Laguionie’s form. In many respects, it is a continuation of his film “Le Château des singes” (1999). For the realisation of the film, Laguionie collaborated with the producer Armelle Glorennec (“Ma vie de Courgette”, 2016) at Blue Spirit Productions. Xavier Picard (“Moomins on the Riviera”, 2014) was the co-director. The music was composed by Christophe Héral, who has already set several Laguionie films to music, including “Louise en hiver” (2016)  and “L’Ile de Black Mór” (2004).