Marquis 1989

In a pre-revolutionary France setting, the Marquis de Sade sits in a dim jail, drafting his thoughts and trading barbs with his own sentient penis, a cheeky companion named Colin. Colin often whines about stimulation and hurls impulsive philosophies, yet he also acts as a storyteller who spins tales that feed the Marquis’s writings, some of which come to life through clay-animated visuals that punctuate the narrative with a playful, dreamlike quality.

The Marquis’ confinement carries a tangled web of accusations: he is said to have defecated on a cross, and there are charges involving a bovine named Justine who is alleged to have been raped and impregnated. A wily camel-headed priest, Don Pompero, together with the cocky Gaëtan de Preaubois, schemes to keep secret the truth that Justine’s rapist was not an ordinary foe but the King of France, complicating the case and casting the inmates’ fate into deeper political shadows.

Beyond the cell walls, revolutionaries prepare to stage a coup to dethrone the king, with leadership coming from Juliette de Titane, a formidable equine noble who embodies the uprising’s daring spirit. The prison crowd is not merely a backdrop but a chorus of political prisoners and would-be escapees, whose attempts to break free repeatedly falter, only to be ultimately set free by the advancing revolutionaries. The Bastille becomes both a symbol and a stage for restless energies, as alliances form and fractures emerge under pressure.

Amid the chaos, Colin finds an unexpected connection with Juliette, and the two flee together to push the revolution forward, leaving the Marquis to his desk, where he continues to write and to muse on his life in relative solitude. The story intertwines dark humor, political satire, and surreal romance, painting a world where art, power, and desire collide in unusual, thought-provoking ways. The film’s distinctive voice comes through in its blend of dialogue-driven scenes and imaginative visuals, inviting viewers to reflect on how storytelling can shape history and personal destiny.

Ultimately, the tale invites you to witness a strange, provocative journey through ambition and rebellion, where a jailed writer, a talking companion, and a cast of eccentric figures navigate a landscape hammered by revolution, secrecy, and the odd tenderness that emerges when unlikely partners find common ground on the road to change.