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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chevalier_0.png]]
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3->''"Behold, France's future. He is both angel and devil, warrior and poet, a true son of France. My best friend, master of the sword, maestro of the bow. You know him well -- Joseph Bologne!"''
4-->-- '''Philippe'''
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6''Chevalier'' is an American {{biopic}} about Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (played here by Creator/KelvinHarrisonJr), the first major classical composer of African descent. It was directed by Creator/StephenWilliams from a screenplay by Creator/StefaniRobinson.
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8Joseph, the mixed-race son of a plantation owner and Nanon ([[Creator/RonkeAdekoluejo Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo]]), a slave, is born in UsefulNotes/{{Guadeloupe}} and educated in Paris after his father notices his skill at music. His skill and charisma eventually make him a favorite of UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette (Creator/LucyBoynton), who knights him "Chevalier de Saint-Georges". He aims to become the director of the Paris Opera, but French high society stands in his way. But UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution is also brewing, threatening major upheaval.
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10The cast includes Creator/SamaraWeaving as Marie-Joséphine de Montalembert, Creator/MartonCsokas as her husband, Creator/AlexFitzalan as the Duke of Orleans, and Creator/MinnieDriver as Marie-Madeleine Guimard.
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12The film premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival ahead of a theatrical release on April 21, 2023.
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14!!Tropes:
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16* ChocolateBaby: Marc-René has his wife Marie-Joséphine's new baby killed after seeing it has dark skin, suspecting that the child is not his, but the Black Saint-Georges'.
17* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Saint-Georges' embracing of his African heritage is signified by his rejection of the white powdered wig and publicly wearing his hair in cornrows.
18* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Joseph's prodigious skill at music and confidence are both established in his first scene, where he challenges ''Mozart himself'' to a violin-off and holds his own.
19* MalMariee: Marie-Joséphine, an intelligent and vivacious young singer unhappily married to the significantly older, stiff-upper-lipped, unartistic Marquis de Montalembert, unsurprisingly begins an affair with her handsome peer Saint-Georges.
20* StarCrossedLovers: Saint-Georges and Marie-Joséphine. She's white, rich, and married; he's black, the illegitimate son of a slave, and a self-made-man, it's 18th century France -- you get the picture. Despite their romantic affair, they don't end up together.
21* TheWhitestBlackGuy: After being freed, Saint-Georges' mother Nanon comes to join him in Paris. She accuses him of changing himself to fit in with the white-dominated French upper class. He later appreciates this view after his fall from grace and becomes more in touch with the African-descended community.

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