Released Date:
2000-12-06
Languages:
French
Countries:
France, Germany, Belgium
Runtime:
115 min
IMDB Ratings:
6.8 (1558 Reviews)
Director:
Gèrard Corbiauève de Castro (scenario
adaptation and dialogue)
Andrèe Corbiau (scenario
adaptation and dialogue)
Gèrard Corbiau (scenario
adaptation and dialogue)
Didier Decoin (participation)
Philippe Beaussant (book)
Corbiau repeats the Farinelli formula, artistic rivalry and social private drama expressed in dazzling, sometimes excessively lavish baroque scenery, music and costume, but this time in its ultimate setting: Versailles. There are two protagonists - first the title character, Louis XIV, the French sun-king who has two passions, establishing absolute rule over the realm -after decades of religious/civil wars- by divine right and artistic brilliancy as a dancer (like Nero wrote and performed musical poetry), and starts asserting himself against the entourage of his Medici mother, the regent during his minority, by building his palace complex and launching a 'fitting' new, mainly musical display of baroque show. Secondly the musical genius Gianbattista Lulli ('Jean-Baptiste') Lully, a Florentine upstart of unbridled ambition, quickly gains the king's absolute trust, despite the nationalist and aristocratic opposition to a low-born Italian, and thus turns the normally socially humble post of court composer into a 'ministerial portfolio of culture' of Cabinet rank, complete with a monopoly which kills of his artistic rivals in operatic theater. The script also weaves a complex web of court scheming for individual power and social interests, and even a sadistic but accidental murder on a young valet, producing a sensuous and sumptuous drama too complex for this format, ending in a freakish but fatal accident. Louis XIV's mother was Ana de Austria (in French, Anne d' Autriche), the daughter of one of the Hapsburgh Kings of Spain. Maria di Medici (in French, Marie de Mèdicis) was his grandmother, his father's mother. She was dead before Louis XIV reached the throne. Please correct the reference to "his Medici mother"
Released Date:
2004-09-15
Languages:
French
Countries:
Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Italy, Switzerland
Runtime:
103 min
IMDB Ratings:
6.8 (719 Reviews)
Director:
Frèdèric FonteyneGenres:
DramaPhilippe Blasband
Madeleine Bourdouxhe (novel)
Frèdèric Fonteyne
Marion Hènsel
Gilles' wife, Elise, who smiles when she thinks of him, cooks and scrubs and cheerfully makes love to him, suspects during her third pregnancy that he is having an affair with her coquettish younger sister, Victorine. Elise suffers, usually in silence. She listens to her husband rave; she asks her priest; she breaks picture frames; she weeps. She decides on a strategy to keep him. Will she succeed?
Join our mailing list and get access to expert analysis, trivia, and recommendations that will elevate your movie-watching experience.