The story of "The Great Arch of Paris," which opens this Thursday (3), is real and begins in 1983 at the Élysée Palace, where François Mitterrand was serving as president of France. The head of state's team was preparing to announce the chosen project for a new arch in the La Défense area, in the West Zone of Paris.
When the envelope was opened, surprise: the name that appeared was that of Johan Otto von Spreckelsen, a 53-year-old Danish architect unknown even to his own country's embassy. His project, an enormous hollow cube of concrete and glass, was conceived as a modern version of the Arc de Triomphe.
Von Spreckelsen's project surpassed 423 other candidates, including prestigious international firms. Stéphane Demoustier's film opens with a tone of satire, with the French government struggling to find and convince the Danish architect to take on the project.
