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The Great Arch

Play trailer Poster for The Great Arch 2025 1h 45m Drama Biography Play Trailer Watchlist
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88% Tomatometer 26 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
1983. French President François Mitterrand decides to launch an international architectural competition for the flagship project of his mandate: the Great Arch of La Défense, aligned with the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe. Against all odds, Otto von Spreckelsen, a Danish architect, wins the competition. Overnight, this 53-year-old man, unknown in France, arrives in Paris where he is propelled at the helm of this pharaonic project. While the architect intends to build the Great Arch exactly as he envisioned, his ideas quickly clash with realistic constraints and the vicissitudes of politics.

Critics Reviews

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Karl Quinn Sydney Morning Herald 1 day ago
4/5
...La Grande Arche de la Défense is a remarkable piece of work. But did the end justify the means? ...Demoustier’s position on that question is ambivalent at best. And that’s precisely what makes The Great Arch such a great watch. Go to Full Review David Jenkins Little White Lies Mar 12, 2026
3/5
It’s a solid, well-made culture-clash drama that does manage to provide a little more insight and emotion than would come from scanning von Spreckelsen’s Wiki bio. Go to Full Review Phil Hoad Guardian Mar 9, 2026
3/5
The crushingly downbeat ending is intriguing -- a sobering exposé of the supposed Gallic cult of the artist. Go to Full Review Jim Schembri jimschembri.com 1 day ago
3.5/5
The eternal tension between artistic vision and the imposition of compromise gets a good working over in a solidly dramatized account… It’s good stuff, though the film ends rather suddenly. Go to Full Review Nadine Whitney The Curb 1 day ago
The Great Arch is both surprisingly relatable and a fascinating character study of the men and women who built the past with an eye to the future. Go to Full Review Leigh Paatsch Daily Telegraph (Australia) Sep 23, 2026
3/5
A frustrating, but revealing portrait of the never-ending battle between commitment and compromise. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
The Great Arch

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Cast & Crew

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Stéphane Demoustier

Director

Claes Bang

Johan Otto von Spreckelsen

Michel Fau

François Mitterrand

Sidse Babett Knudsen

Liv von Spreckelsen

Xavier Dolan

Jean-Louis Subilon

Swann Arlaud

Paul Andreu
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The Great Arch

L'inconnu de la Grande Arche (2025) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis 1983. French President François Mitterrand decides to launch an international architectural competition for the flagship project of his mandate: the Great Arch of La Défense, aligned with the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe. Against all odds, Otto von Spreckelsen, a Danish architect, wins the competition. Overnight, this 53-year-old man, unknown in France, arrives in Paris where he is propelled at the helm of this pharaonic project. While the architect intends to build the Great Arch exactly as he envisioned, his ideas quickly clash with realistic constraints and the vicissitudes of politics.
Director
Stéphane Demoustier
Producer
Muriel Meynard
Screenwriter
Stéphane Demoustier
Production Co
Agat Films, Ex Nihilo, Zentropa Entertainments
Genre
Drama, Biography
Original Language
French
Runtime
1h 45m
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