On Guard

On Guard (Le Bossu, 1997) is a French swashbuckler you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Philippe de Broca and based on Paul Féval's 1857 novel. The chevalier Lagardère witnesses the treacherous murder of his friend the Duke of Nevers, swears to protect the duke's infant daughter, and spends the next sixteen years doing exactly that.

To get close to the killer — now a powerful financier in Paris — Lagardère adopts a disguise: a hunched street performer, harmless and invisible. The masquerade takes him where honour never could. Vincent Perez plays Lagardère with the kind of swordsman's ease the role demands; his duels are fast, precise, almost choreographic. Daniel Auteuil is the villain Gonzague, and Marie Gillain plays the duke's daughter, now grown and unaware of who her guardian really is.

Philippe Noiret appears in a supporting role, lending the film a comfortable sense of old-school French cinema craft. Féval's story has been adapted several times, but this 1997 version — shot across France, Germany and Italy — is the one that holds up. Stream On Guard online on iFILM.