images. costumes. acting. music. extraordinary show, Baroque explosion. and little more. because the force of Magimel to create a splendid Louis XIV is central clue. the king is not only a character but an extraordinary scene. because, out of accuracy of facts, the spirit of a past page is all- mighty. colors, intrigues, map of a war. and many seductive nuances of a metamorphose. nothing else. only a form of joy without precise definition. because , like each good films, it is a mixture between fable, parable and fairy tale. great difference - the shadows as bones of light of power conquest. art - only instrument. the best. or only step for a not ending dance.

Belgian director Gerard Corbieu's "Le Roi Danse" is really about two things: the life of Jean-Baptiste Lully, composer to Louis XIV, and the creative chaos inherent in musical genius. Lully was probably the most controversial composer ever to serve Louis XIV. He was a Florentine attempting to fit into a French World that did not want him, but which in the end had to acknowledge his musical genius. He was a libertine who shamelessly carried on extramarital affairs with men and women at a time when a man of his station (the kings and nobles were not held to such lofty moral standards) was required to be prudish and monogamous. He was mercurial, unpredictable, unscrupulous, cold and vain at a time when advancement depended on him being subservient and capable of flattery. But Lully's wild and unorthodox ways came from the same well spring as his musical genius, which was why he retained the king's favor for such a long time. This is the Lully that is portrayed so well by Boris Terral in "Le Roi Danse." Experiencing this movie is likely experiencing wild bursts of energy on screen. The music is often the source of that energy, but Boris Terral and Benoit Magimel (whose Louis XIV is the best I have seen) contributes to it as well. Sometimes this film was criticized for its graphic portrayal of Anne of Austria's breast cancer surgery without anesthetic (a scene which, by the way, was faithful to what actually happened) or its tendency to clutter one event after the other in furious succession until Lully's career approaches a crescendo unheard of in the French music world. But it is important to remember that this what the 17th century world was like. Moreover, we are seeing that world largely from Lully's eyes as he recalls his life shortly before an agonizing death from gangrene. For Lully, the 17th century world of a music was filled with ups and downs, humiliations and triumphs, and the agony of it all was that each success (when Lully was successful) was only fleeting because Lully was only someone as long as he retained the king's favor. There is an extraordinary scene where Lully explains to his wife Madeleine that without the king he is nothing. In other words, forget about all the brilliant compositions in the past or all the great work he was doing now. If Lully could not compose works that were better than his last to hold on to the king's favor, his career was over and he was nothing.I could go on, except I would be missing something: the artistry involved in making this film. Visually, this film is great to look at. Moreover, it is easy to mess up a film with such a complex script as this one. But the acting in it is superb, especially from Magimel (Louis XIV), Terral (Lully) and Tcheky Karyo (Moliere). Finally, Corbieu paces everything at an appropriately frenetic pace that we experience and understand the 17th century and all its uncertainties for a composer. In short, Le Roi Danse is a truly brilliant film.

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.

Having just seen this film I was impressed and intrigued enough to want to comment on it.The subject is quite unusual-the life,rise and court of the famous French king Louis the fourteenth,the famous "sun king" as seen by his court musician,the not least famous Lully. The style,imagery,artistic means of this film reminded me of another much talked about film which also deals with a composer,Forman's Amadeus-in both films we see certain taste for the dramatic, even overtly theatrical,for haunting and often violent scenes,for the grotesque and almost disturbing. However I prefer a more disturbing,uncomfortable view of history than the typical Hollywood style of idealizing historical characters whether if actually good,bad or just complex(a mixture of good and bad,like most historical characters and most people really are). The film is historically somewhat biased,mainly for two reasons: 1.though an important part of Louis's reign,Lully's music wasn't the most important affair of state,yet in this film it is depicted as if it were the only reason of existence for France,the king,s family,his court 2.Lully and Moliere weren't the only artists to contribute to the glamor,luxury,power,glory,cultural achievements and distinctive style always linked with the sun-king's reign-there were also architects like Le Brun,Le Vau,Le Notre,tragedy-play writes like Corneille and Racine,literary critics like Boileau,carpenters like Boulle and many other,among whom even the tens of thousands of laborers,who died or became ill while turning,with immense efforts and during decades of relentless work,the inhospitable marshes of Versailles into Europe's most famous and glamorous royal residence... The sun-king is depicted in an awkward,somewhat strange way:the immense opulence of his lifestyle is known,however I always pictured him much more formal and reserved,almost arrogant,distant in his majestic dignity,exhaling a spartan sobriety and god-like greatness out of every pore. Without being a parody or caricature of the real Louis,I often got quite the opposite of what I expected-he seems to me vulnerable,lonely,often unloved and misunderstood,unbalanced,craving for appreciation and success(historically,these attitudes can be partly explained by the fact that Louis was at the beginning of his reign,before he gradually became an absolute ruler). And Louis dances...Russel's The Devils seems to anticipate this film,as we see that also Louis the thirteenth,none else than the sun king's father is also depicted as a music-lover,an innate artist rather than a monarch(remember Russel's creation and how the French king from that film was depicted wearing almost the same elaborate costumes and performing almost the same histrionic,yet fascinating dance movements),however Russel's intention was to detract French monarchy as decadent,capitalizing on the homophobic reactions the king's slightly effeminate clothing and gesture might cause,especially to the more conservative viewer. A certain homo-erotic message is undoubtedly present,however not in order to deconstruct the myth of the sun-king,it is often hinted how hard it is for Lully,who anxiously tried to closet his bisexual desires and fit into the heterosexual mainstream,to keep his secret love for the king hidden well,even if strictly heterosexual in his private life it is a historical fact that Louis the fourteenth is known to have been an extremely good-looking man and therefore likely to attract admirers of both genders-I think the actor playing Louis is a good choice as he both resembles the historical character and is handsome enough to justify Lully's crush,however a profssional dancer would have also depicted truthfully Louis the showman rather than the politician(or a politician trough his on-stage extravaganza,as an expression of power and a manipulatuive technique),this very side of the king's personality would have been the ideal part,even more than for Magimel or Tarding for brilliant real-life performers Nurejew or Baryshnikow.Another historical character with whom the sun king might be compared is the Emperor Nero-he too build an impressive,megalomaniac palace as symbol of his absolute,almost divine power(Versailles being a baroque version of the legendary Domus Aurea-The House of Gold),both being fascinated of overindulgent self-marketing by comparing themselves to particularly grand and lavish imagery like the sun,the sun-god,gold and the golden age,both of them being known not only as protectors of art but also as performance-Nero scandalized the virtuous Romans with his acting and his often effeminate costumes and parts,just like young Louis shocked the Catholic circle gathered around his aging and strict mother and some exaggeratedly pious and narrow-minded aristocrats,which rather than understanding the beauty of art played the strict moralists(though often immoral themselves). In the end,as we also know from history,the sun-king succeeds to fulfill his dreams of magnificence,however at a high cost,among the ones who payed the price being eventually the court composer himself:Lully got injured while stubbornly insisting to conduct a Te Deum which his monarch didn't even honor with his presence,this injury getting infected and causing Lully's death(this is historical fact,Lully really died this way),the whole film being,like in Amadeus,a deathbed confession recalling the most important moments in the composer's life. Even if Lully's death appears as accidental,useless and stupid,it gave his life the ultimate meaning and apotheosis-by refusing to accept the amputation of the wounded body-part he ultimately sacrificed his life to his sovereign,being the perfect subject,faithful to his master till the end,giving both his work and his love for the king a noble and uplifting conclusion,defying&defeating all the rumors and irony spread by his many rivals.