The Death of Louis XIV

The Death of Louis XIV (French: La Mort de Louis XIV) is a 2016 historical drama film directed by Albert Serra and starring Jean-Pierre Léaud. Set in 1715, it depicts the final days of Louis XIV of France. The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2016.[2] It was released in France on 2 November 2016.[3]

The Death of Louis XIV
Film poster
FrenchLa Mort de Louis XIV
Directed byAlbert Serra
Produced byThierry Lounas
Written byAlbert Serra
Thierry Lounas
StarringJean-Pierre Léaud
Music byMarc Verdaguer
CinematographyJonathan Ricquebourg
Edited byAriadna Ribas
Artur Tort
Albert Serra
Production
company
Capricci Films
Rosa Filmes
Bobi Lux
Andergraun Films
Distributed byCapricci Films (France)
Release date
  • 19 May 2016 (2016-05-19) (Cannes)
  • 2 November 2016 (2016-11-02) (France)
Running time
115 minutes
CountryFrance
Portugal
Spain
LanguageFrench
Box office$209,715[1]

Plot

Louis XIV lies in his bed. Because of the gangrene, his foot becomes blackened.

Cast

Production

Director Albert Serra and producer Thierry Lounas wrote the screenplay for the film.[4] Jean-Pierre Léaud played the lead role.[4] For the film, Albert Serra did not have any rehearsals.[5] Filming took place in the surroundings of the Château de Hautefort in 2015.[4] It took 15 days to shoot the film in total.[5]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2016.[2] It was released in France on 2 November 2016.[3]

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 56 reviews, and an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Death of Louis XIV will frustrate viewers out of sync with its deliberate pace, but those with the patience to settle in may be rewarded with a thoughtful, finely detailed drama."[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7]

Boyd van Hoeij of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "[Albert Serra's] most accessible work to date."[8] Glenn Kenny of The New York Times wrote, "As for Mr. Serra, while he often enjoys playing the foppish provocateur in his interviews, his film is sober, meticulous and entirely convincing in its depiction of period and mortality."[9] Ben Kenigsberg of Variety wrote, "As minimalist as Serra's films can be, they are rarely boring, and often given to wry wit."[10]

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 5 out of 5 stars, writing, "At 73, Jean-Pierre Léaud gives what could be the performance of his career as Louis XIV."[11] Allan Hunter of Screen International also commented that "It is easily the actor's best role and most noteworthy performance in some time."[12]

Accolades
Award Year of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Prix Jean Vigo 2016 Best Film The Death of Louis XIV Won [13]
Jerusalem Film Festival 2016 Wilf Family Foundation Award for Best International Film The Death of Louis XIV Won [14]
Louis Delluc Prize 2016 Best Film The Death of Louis XIV Nominated [15]
Lumières Award 2017 Best Film The Death of Louis XIV Nominated [16][17]
Best Director Albert Serra Nominated
Best Actor Jean-Pierre Léaud Won
Best Cinematography Jonathan Ricquebourg Won

References
  1. "The Death of Louis XIV". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  2. "Louis XIV's death throes by Albert Serra". Cannes Film Festival. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  3. "La Mort de Louis XIV". AlloCiné. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  4. Lemercier, Fabien (15 October 2015). "Albert Serra shooting Last Days of Louis XIV". Cineuropa. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  5. Kasman, Daniel (10 September 2016). "Discussing "The Death of Louis XIV" with Albert Serra". Mubi. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  6. "The Death of Louis XIV (La mort de Louis XIV)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  7. "The Death of Louis XIV". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  8. Hoeij, Boyd van (19 May 2016). "'The Death of Louis XIV' ('La Mort de Louis XIV'): Cannes Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  9. Kenny, Glenn (30 March 2017). "Review: 'The Death of Louis XIV' Has a Riveting Performance at Its Heart". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  10. Kenigsberg, Ben (20 June 2016). "Film Review: 'The Death of Louis XIV'". Variety. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  11. Bradshaw, Peter (12 July 2017). "The Death of Louis XIV review – a quietly amazing portrait of the end of life". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  12. Hunter, Allan (19 May 2016). "'The Death Of Louis XIV': Review". Screen International. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  13. Lemercier, Fabien (6 June 2016). "The Jean Vigo Award goes to Last Days of Louis XIV". Cineuropa. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  14. Chung, Andrea (18 July 2016). "The Jerusalem Film Festival comes to an end". Cineuropa. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  15. Richford, Rhonda (14 December 2016). "Stephane Brize's 'A Woman's Life' Takes France's Louis Delluc Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  16. Richford, Rhoanda (16 December 2016). "France's Lumiere Awards Nominations Unveiled". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  17. Richford, Rhoanda (30 January 2017). "Lumiere Awards: 'Elle,' 'My Life as a Zucchini' Take Top Prizes". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
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