151 - The Taking of Power by Louis XIV, 1966, France. Dir. Roberto Rossellini.

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

151 - The Taking of Power by Louis XIV, 1966, France.  Dir. Roberto Rossellini.

Cardinal Mazarin is sick unto death.  He has been running France for Louis XIV since Louis became king at age 5.  Now he is about to die and Louis is scared.  Terrified.

How will he run the country without his mentor?

So many people are vying for power.  So many want to use him for their own purposes.

They know he is scared.  They know he is weak.  Once Mazarin dies, they will swoop in like vultures for the kill.

This group includes his mother.

And his siblings.

But Louis surprises people.

When Mazarin dies he takes power for himself.  As he should.  And consolidates it.

And does good things for France.

People know about the great palace of Versailles.  And the costumes.  The feasts.  The hunts.  And the pageantry.

But could it have been more than just a reflection of a self-indulgent king?

Though this be madness, might there be a method in it?

Louis XIV makes everyone wear black.  Then he makes them all wear bright colors.

He himself dresses in fine red.  And looks foppish.

The courtesans follow.

He holds hunts and hosts feasts and invites thousands.

And people aspire to be near power and to please him.

Rossellini presents a biography of Louis XIV that suggests he was savvy.  Yes, afraid.  But capable of turning it to his advantage.

By keeping people distracted with clothing and food and games, he directed their ambitions towards objectives that did not threaten him.

He kept them fighting each other.

He turned them into subjects.

He won them by their vanity.

And he built a legacy.

Historians have praised this movie as one of the most accurate portrayals of history on film.

And Rossellini, in his fashion, cast a non-actor to play the role.

Jean-Marie Patte really was terrified.

He had never acted on camera before and never did since.  Except perhaps for a bit part ten years later.

He appeared nervous.  He read cue cards.  He was stiff.

Just what Rossellini wanted.  It portrayed the characteristics historians describe of Louis in their writings.

This is the kind of movie you watch in order to watch it.  To see it.  To behold it!

Rossellini spent years and plenty of resources to recreate the world in which Louis XIV lived.

And it shows up on screen.

It is like going to the museum and looking at a painting.  A picture.  Only it moves.

A moving picture.