PoppyTransfusion Not familiar with the history within which the film and its characters are set, I am unable to comment on its accuracy or faith to the people and times the film depicts in grand and lavish style. This, perhaps, is a good thing as I can appreciate the film as a film and it is an incredibly beautiful one. However, beneath the beautiful veneer is a bitter-sweet story of one court musician's (Lully) creative passion and unrequited love for the king (Louis) he served.As with many historical pictures the powers and machinations of the French court are apparent: in Lully's struggle to gain French citizenship and acceptance, as a former Italian, based on his musical gifts and patronage of the king; also in Louis's desire to utilise the arts for political power. Lully rises to power and as he does so his fervent devotion to the king becomes an obsession that will dominates Lully's life. As Lully tells the hapless Moliere, "I choose between him and you, my friend. He is fickle. He loves only his glory, but I love him. He's the best of me." The young king is shown as lonely and unhappy, estranged within the court from his mother he indulges his passion for music and dance through Lully, who makes of the king a dancer. This early bond through music is manipulated by Louis later for political ends, with Louis becoming increasingly narcissistic and cruelly remote towards Lully. Louis's narcissism is well evoked; for example, in one scene where, rehearsing a dance in which Louis is the sun, Louis tells Lully to "adjust the movement of the planets. The planets do not brush against the sun. They allow it to shine." The evolution of the relationship between Lully and Louis hurts both men who in turn hurt those around them. Neither are sympathetically portrayed and yet moments of vulnerability make it hard to dislike them or condemn them outright. Louis, as much from political necessity as cruelty, tells Lully he is not his friend as the king has no friends. This line is repeated at later intervals by Lully as he cuts ties with people in a ruthless and desperate struggle to stay important to the king.Lully loves the king. What the king feels for Lully is less clear although there are blurred lines suggesting more feeling from Louis to Lully than was expressed. The final scene of the film shows a melancholic Louis without music in his life now that Lully has died. Music functions as a thematic metaphor throughout the film for life, love and bounty yet it is destructive too as first Louis and then Lully injure themselves in its service. Lully's injury proves fatal to him. The film is infused with Lully's music adding an aural splendour to the visuals on display and doing justice to his music. The dance scenes and those between Lully and Louis are executed exceptionally well. Reputed to have been one of the most expensive French productions, it is easy to believe as the film is so detailed and rich.

loo-20 I just saw the movie during a French art and culture festival in Hong Kong. It was the answer to my quest for a movie that deals with the subject of King Louis XIV's passion for dance and that of Lully's influence in the king's life. (I had previously seen half a dozen movies dealing with the subject of Louis XIV but NONE even touched on the fact that he loved dancing.) I was thrilled by what I saw, especially "Le Ballet de la Nuit" performance in which the 14-year-old king was dressed in the fashion of Apollo and danced a majestic dance. I am surprised none of the comments mentioned anything about the choreography.I had the fortune of meeting the choreographer of the film, Béatrice Massin, who attended the screening. She is THE authority of Baroque dance in France, after having worked with Francine Lancelot, who was the pioneer in the restoration of Baroque dance into its original form. Massin works with original dance notation materials from Louis XIV's time, especially the Feuillet notations, which provided very detailed and exact instructions on the dance steps used at Louis XIV's court. This dance form is very important because it is the origin of today's ballet, which has gone through a lot of transformations, especially from that of a male-only art form to one where the female dancer dominates the stage.During production, Massin worked with the lead roles in the movie every day for three months, and she has high regard for Benoît Magimel. Though not a professional dancer, he attempted all the dance sequences with courage, never uttering the words "I can't." Of course, the repertoire of Baroque dance was wide-ranging and Massin could not possibly have included all the varieties of that era. She mainly worked in such a way to show what the director wanted. In the context of this movie, the director had wanted to show the masculine power that the king wanted to demonstrate, as a way to consolidate his power on the throne. So what we see in the movie comes across as very forceful, masculine movements.One thing that the film has left out - what Massin feels as a mistake - is the character of Pierre Beauchamps. Beauchamps was the key dance master at Louis XIV's court and was responsible for dance education and choreographer, although he was also a musician - not as accomplished as Lully at that, while Lully's dancing skills would pale alongside Beauchamps'. In fact, Lully, Beauchamps and Molière were working very closely together. For me, it is a big, big regret that this movie, whose theme is Louis XIV's passion and talent for dance, has treated Beauchamps in such a dismissive manner (the only scene where he appeared was when the king asked him to leave the room and rearrange the choreography, to give it "more air!").Another thing that I miss seeing is the establishment of l'Académie Royale de la Dance. Surely, the film shows that the king announced it in a royal decree as soon as he took over all the power upon Mazarin's death. But it would have been nice to see a snippet of the academy's activities, such as how the first group of professional ballet dancers were trained.Unlike what some of the commentators here have said, though, I think that the film does have a deep aspect. The idea that Louis XIV cared so much about the art of dance and music and Lully's concept of music being something to make the king immortal -- points to the transcending nature of these arts. Although dance and music was used as much as a political tool for power as a form of entertainment at the court, I personally feel that the passion for dance and music - as a pure form of truth and beauty - is powerfully expressed through the dramatic performances of the actors and actresses in this film.Anybody who loves the subject of Louis XIV, Baroque music, dance and ballet should go and see this film.

avatar6 I happen to think this is a movie well worth watching. The historical aspect isn't so boring as a viewer might suspect (and unlike some believe, there is actually quite a bit of historical fact). This film has a way of making it fun and exciting, even with the politics of the day playing a prominent role. Another thing I really liked about it, was the amazing, and I do mean amazing, visual style. The film is chock full of style and pinache. The costumes are incredible, the music is excellent (particularly if you're a fan of the Baroque), and the theatrics are just... beautiful! It's a beautifully crafted film, well acted, and wonderful to look at. I'd almost say it's the kind of film that's less of a movie and more of an experience. I could actually see this being performed on stage, if that helps to describe it. Truly a neat movie and I feel lucky to have seen it. I'd have to give it ****1/2 out of *****, just on visuals alone.

scythian99 The music is wonderful, the various pieces of Lully really set the mood for this colorful film, but the carelessness of the director is seen in the costumes. The clothing of the 1660s and early 1670s were radically different from the ones in the 1680s. I expected to see more petticoat breeches, over skirts and short coats on the men, with the scenes in the 1660s, but instead they have costumes from the 1690s (long coats, waistcoats)! Would someone make a movie about the 1970s and have everyone outfitted from clothes from the 1990s?