The Taking of Power by Louis XIV

Another film from the 1967 New York Film Festival was The Taking of Power by Louis XIV, a historical drama from Roberto Rosselini, who had been commissioned by French television to make it. A third of the country watched it, and it ended up playing at Venice as well as New York.

I'm a sucker for good palace intrigue films. This is no Richard III, it's much more subtle, but it makes for an fascinating film. Louis, who would go down as the longest ruler in European history (72 years) is a young man (it's 1661, so he would have been 23). The country was basically being run by Cardinal Mazarin, but he dies, and Louis decided he's going to run things now, much to the dismay of his mother, Anne of Austria, who had been regent during his childhood (he inherited the throne at the age of five).

Louis is played by Jean-Louis Patte, an amateur actor, who is largely stiff and often seen looking off at his off-stage lines. This served Rosselini's intention well, for Louis was a scared king. He lived through the Fronde rebellion, and his uncle up in England, Charles I, got his head chopped off (he says if Parliament can do that there, they can do it to him).

One of his first steps is to arrest the Minister of Finances, Fouquet, who is accused of dipping into the till (he is arrested by D'Artagnan, of the Three Musketeers). He then does something clever--he changes fashion. He has the most ridiculous, expensive outfit made for himself. He wants the nobility to spend most of their money on their clothes. He wants them to spend a year's worth of earnings on a suit.

Louis would go on to be as "The Sun King" and make the memorable quote, "I am the state," but everybody's got to start somewhere, and everyone has a mother. He gets yelled at her for publicly skinny-dipping with his mistress. But when he is awakened by his servants (it's quite a production) his queen gives the equivalent of a thumbs-up sign, indicating he performed his conjugal duties.

The film looks terrific in a Criterion edition. Many of the shots look like classic paintings. The costumes and sets are exquisite (although Rosselini used matte shots for sites like the Louvre). I wouldn't call it a great film, but an interesting one, especially for history buffs.