Having begun like most directors with small subjects Jean-Paul Rappeneau seems to have acquired a penchant for the crowded canvas given that his last three films - including this one - comprise Cyrano de Bergerac and Bon Voyage. My knowledge of the period - 1830s - is skimpy to say the least so I have no basis for questioning the authenticity or otherwise of the storyline involving both Italian patriots hiding in France and an outbreak of cholera in the Provence region but this is really academic because authentic or not it provides both a dramatic and colourful backdrop to a well-told story in which for once the Romantic element is understated. Olivier Martinez is sufficiently athletic to carry out lots of Errol Flynn-like engagements with a dozen assailants at once and come off incredibly best but he is woefully lacking in Flynn's abundant charm/charisma so it's just as well that leading lady Juliette Binoche has enough for both. Not least of its assets is the support, never more than ten or fifteen minutes in each case, from some of the finest actors in France from Isabelle Huppert to Jean Yanne to Francois Cluzot to Pierre Arditi. A fine film from a fine director.

I found the film historically poignant in reference to the period of history when the plague ravaged Europe. You feel what people must have felt during that era.The romance was sensitive and based on harsh realities of the epoch in question. This was in my mind, different and refreshing. I recommend this movie to the student of history as well as those who would study love and how love grows in a relationship.I felt the actors were a good pick and stood up well to the task at hand.A great example of some of the recent French films that have come on the scene lately.

Provence provides a stunning locale for this romantic adventure. The camera work is exquisite and every opportunity is taken to capture the natural beauty of this region. The story is simple enough. Angelo, an Italian colonel (handsome Olivier Martinez) escapes from Austrian-oppressed Italy to raise funds in the continuing battle against Austria. He finds more than an unsympathetic acceptance in France. Most of the towns through which he rides are beset with cholera. The camera scenes of the dead and dying victims, horse-drawn carts packed high with bodies and funeral pyres are terrifying enough, but it is the fluttering of black wings as crows seek out the eyes of the dying victims that frighten most. Some of the close-ups are pretty grim. In lighter vein I liked the scene where a cat befriends our horseman and he talks to it on the roof about how wars are won with money as much as guns. The cat is a great little actor. The horseman an accomplished swordsman carves his way through many a desperate situation (What hero doesn't?) He acquires a bottle of medicine from a dying stranger who has taught him a massage technique to avert death from cholera. On his way back to Italy with a bag of gold coins, he gives protection to Pauline, a doctor's wife (Juliette Binoche)who is seeking out her missing husband in the cholera-infected area. The young 25-year old colonel who sends almost daily letters to his mother in Italy (they are really a diary of events) behaves as the perfect gentleman at all times, but his protegee is obviously drawn to him. Here is a love story where the lovers admire from a distance never submitting to the chemistry which is drawing them together. When the woman collapses with cholera, all existing barriers are forgotten as he works on her frantically with his acquired knowledge to save her life. One of the great joys of this film is to watch the handsome faces of Martinez and Binoche. Their beauty contrasts sharply with the agonised plight of the villagers and the devilish black crows which hover continuously about the dead, fluttering out through open doors and windows. The ending may not satisfy some, but it leaves us with the thought that somewhere sometime all will be well again.

Of course, there is chemistry between the two leads, but as everyone else has aforementioned, 'Horseman on the Roof' does not stop there. There is also the cinematography, the values displayed by Pauline, but especially Angelo; his honor, his loyalty, and courage to do what's right.****SPOILER WARNING *****I liked the fact that the ending was more realistic than I thought it would be....Pauline accepted the fact that she would never see Angelo again, without making herself feel better by thinking less of him, but still loving him, and still remaining loyal to her husband through respect and fidelity.