After Dad or Mom and its continuation or EiffelMartin Bourboulon is engaged in the film adaptation of the literary monument of Alexandre Dumas. Three Musketeers. Released in 2023, this cinematic diptych features a five-star cast. The four heroes are played by François Civil (D’Artagnan), Vincent Cassel (Athos), Romain Duris (Aramis) and Pio Marmay (Porthos).
They are surrounded by Eva Green as Milady, Louis Garrel as Louis XIII and Lina Khoudri as Constance Bonacieux. The plot takes us from the Louvre to Buckingham Palace, into the heart of a kingdom torn by religious wars and under threat from England, where the fates of these characters are intertwined for the survival of France.
Modern interpretation of the character Porthos
In his adaptation, Martin Bourboulon took liberties with Dumas’s novel, giving it a modern twist, notably by making Porthos, played by Pio Marmay, a bisexual character.
The director explained this bias in an interview with the publication TF1 : “Porthos is an epicurean, a man who loves everything, a man who loves to live. Pio Marmai, I think, says so too. We told ourselves that this musketeer is a man who is hungry when he leaves the table. Adding flavor to partying, to conquest, seemed fun to us.”
In a character-heavy story, the director was looking for “something that could characterize everyone in the most appropriate way.”
Martin Bourboulon’s view of Dumas’s work
When asked about a possible “woke” reading of his feature film, the director fully accepts his choice: “Dumas himself did not respect 17th-century history in the literal sense. He leaked things, he made up events. There were inconsistencies and anachronisms. I don’t think we can be blamed for that.”
For Martin Bourboulon, adaptation means freely appropriating history by integrating contemporary themes. If he draws heavily from the original novel, he doesn’t hesitate to add new elements, such as the attack on the king. “Everyone is free to see things the way they want. This did not stop us from moving forward,” the director concludes.