Lost Illusions

Lost Illusions (Illusions perdues, 2021) is a period drama you can watch online on iFILM, Xavier Giannoli's adaptation of Balzac about a penniless provincial poet who arrives in 1820s Paris and gets swallowed by the machinery of the literary trade.

Lucien, a printer's son with looks and talent and no money, comes to the capital chasing fame. He learns fast that reviews are bought and sold, that theater applause is rented from professional clappers, and that a patron who flatters you tonight can ruin you by morning. Benjamin Voisin plays Lucien, with Cécile de France, Vincent Lacoste, filmmaker Xavier Dolan as a rival critic, and Gérard Depardieu among the Parisian sharks.

The film swept seven César Awards, Best Film among them. Giannoli compresses a sprawling 19th-century novel into something brisk and pointed about a press for hire — a satire that lands uncomfortably close to now. If you like costume dramas with bite rather than postcards, start here. Stream Lost Illusions (2021) online on iFILM.