This movie takes us to witness the weird intricacies of royal marriages of old. This story (based on a book I haven't read) is a great idea and could make a great movie, but I was a bit disappointed by the result.
The movie lacks flair and I feel it might mostly be an editing and direction problem. Scenes just follow one another like it's an animated picture book. It's never really clear what the movie wants to say to us besides "look, this story happened". It is a good story, but not enough to make it a great movie.
The tone isn't very consistent. A lot of the movie plays as a comedy, as it shows the ridiculousness of the social rules of the time. At the beginning, I wasn't sure this comedic tone was intentional. Now, I do think it was, but, at the same time, the rest of the movie has a such a somber tone... instead of feeling like a dramedy, it rather looks like the director wasn't sure of what he wanted.
The actors are all great. I especially liked Igor van Dessel as Louis XV and Juliane Lepoureau as the Infanta. Thomas Mustin gloriously overacts as the Duke of Condé. I couldn't say I didn't like it, but it's a jarring contrast to the seriousness of all the other actors. Similarly, Anamaria Vartolomei plays Louise-Elizabeth as a very modern teenager, while everyone around her adopts more historical manners (that contrast may have been intentional, but I didn't like it). So, again, it looks like the director wasn't sure of what he wanted from his actors.
All in all, if you're interested in movies about the "Ancien Régime", like I am, you'll probably find a lot to enjoy in this movie. But you won't find a masterpiece. The costumes and the sets are beautiful and make for a good immersion into that time. I couldn't speak about the historical accuracy: I only noticed that they aged up the four children by a few years. It definitely looked historically accurate, but viewed through the lens of our modern age, where such marriage practices look at best absurd.
6.5/10.
The movie lacks flair and I feel it might mostly be an editing and direction problem. Scenes just follow one another like it's an animated picture book. It's never really clear what the movie wants to say to us besides "look, this story happened". It is a good story, but not enough to make it a great movie.
The tone isn't very consistent. A lot of the movie plays as a comedy, as it shows the ridiculousness of the social rules of the time. At the beginning, I wasn't sure this comedic tone was intentional. Now, I do think it was, but, at the same time, the rest of the movie has a such a somber tone... instead of feeling like a dramedy, it rather looks like the director wasn't sure of what he wanted.
The actors are all great. I especially liked Igor van Dessel as Louis XV and Juliane Lepoureau as the Infanta. Thomas Mustin gloriously overacts as the Duke of Condé. I couldn't say I didn't like it, but it's a jarring contrast to the seriousness of all the other actors. Similarly, Anamaria Vartolomei plays Louise-Elizabeth as a very modern teenager, while everyone around her adopts more historical manners (that contrast may have been intentional, but I didn't like it). So, again, it looks like the director wasn't sure of what he wanted from his actors.
All in all, if you're interested in movies about the "Ancien Régime", like I am, you'll probably find a lot to enjoy in this movie. But you won't find a masterpiece. The costumes and the sets are beautiful and make for a good immersion into that time. I couldn't speak about the historical accuracy: I only noticed that they aged up the four children by a few years. It definitely looked historically accurate, but viewed through the lens of our modern age, where such marriage practices look at best absurd.
6.5/10.