Vatel

One of the last truly remarkable roles of Gérard Depardieu, who later ruined his reputation by not being able to say no, not only when offered something to eat. He took any role in obvious flops. Vatel is an elaborate costume drama set during the reign of the Sun King Louis XIV. Some mistakenly consider Vatel primarily a love story between Vatel and a charming court lady, but that is rather a side story. The main role is played by the question of where the limit is, at which subordination to authority causes a person to lose all self-respect. How far is it necessary to bow down to the tyranny of the more powerful? On one side stands the powerful ruler, on the other the one who refuses to be an object that can be lost in a game of cards. This movie directly emanates what the revolution in the US and especially in France opposed. Louis XIV, portrayed here as a self-indulgent bungler, was much more than just an extravagant despot. He was a prominent politician who made France the most significant continental power, very hardworking, with a strategic way of thinking. Expensive palace construction, pompous festivities, and ostentatious performances were rather meant to increase France's glory than an end in and of themselves. The film shows the dark side of life at the court, where everyone tried to gain the favor of the ruler at any cost and keep it. With its generous budget, it is also a spectacle, simply a film that can convey the luxury of the royal court with probably greater splendor than it actually had. Overall impression: 80%. (26/01/2013)