“Lafayette: The Lost Hero” will be broadcast on PBS stations nationwide on September 13 at 10 p.m. ET. College of Charleston adjunct history professor Robert R. Crout is a key commentator in the one-hour PBS documentary and Thomas Beckner ’00 was an associate producer on the project.
The film chronicles the life and legend of Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette. Crout, a renowned Lafayette scholar, presents the French military officer from the American point of view, going “head-to-head” with a scholar presenting the French view. “Sometimes different people from different national backgrounds can look at the same historical figure and see different things – it’s just based on their perspectives,” says Crout. “I want to bring both the French and American public a truer image of Lafayette, the public figure and the man.”
In addition to being a renowned scholar known for extensive research on the Marquis, Crout is also co-editor of the Lafayette Papers Project at Cornell University, which published the five volume series Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776-1790 (Cornell University Press, 1981).
Beckner ’00 did preliminary casting and pre-interviewing in both the United States and France. He says, “We filmed extensively in both countries including in the White House (during President Sarkozy’s visit), Mount Vernon, M onticello, the French Ambassador’s Residence in New York, Chateau de Versailles, Chateau de Vincennes and the French Senate. This project literally opened doors to worlds that I would never have had the opportunity to see.”
The Marquis de Lafayette is an intriguing, neglected, and controversial figure from both the American and French Revolutions who at one time was the most famous man in the world. The film examines why a wealthy young French aristocrat would leave the comforts of the court to help a fledgling nation on another continent fight for independence, the nature of the daring path he then set upon, and how the concept of liberty steered so many choices in his life.
Lafayette left France at the age of 19 in 1777 and worked courageously for the independence of the United States through both strategic military command and skillful diplomacy. He served in the Continental Army under George Washington, participated in the Battles of Brandywine and Yorkville, where he tactically blocked British troops led by Charles Cornwallis, and convinced the French government to increase their commitment to the American cause. Lafayette became, literally, a household name. After peace was won in America, Lafayette returned to France, risking his life to help start the French Revolution and then struggling in vain to bring democracy to his country by peaceful means. The film explores the ideals of the Enlightenment that Lafayette stood for.
The documentary’s narrative is also driven by a present-day search by Lafayette’s descendant, Sabine Renault-Sabloniere, to find out more about her ancestor. The result is a biographical film that is part adventure, part romance, part historical journey, with lush dramatizations, evocative footage and animations that give cultural background and bring the audience closer to a sense of what might really have happened in the past, as well as insights on its meaning to us today.
In addition to interviews with Crout, other leading authorities on Lafayette contribute to the film including James R. Gaines, Sabine Renault-Sabloniere, Jacque de Trentinian, Patrick Villiers, Gonzague Saint Bris, and Sarah Vowell.
“Lafayette: The Lost Hero” is a production of Storyville Films, The Documentary Group and WETA Washington, D.C.
To view part of the interview with Crout, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTy3GbFaRBo