''The King Dances'' (''Le Roi danse'') is a 2000 costume drama by Belgian filmmaker Gérard Corbiau based on Philippe Beaussant's biography of

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...

, ''Lully ou le musicien du soleil'' (1992). The film, presenting libertine and pagan Lully as a natural ally of the early Enlightenment figure

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

in his conflicts with the Catholic establishment, focuses on Lully's personal relationship with the King, as well as his camaraderie with

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

and rivalry with Robert Cambert.

Plot

Lully (

Boris Terral Boris Terral (born 8 November 1969) is a French actor. He appeared in more than forty films since 1992. Selected filmography References External links

* 1969 births Living people French male film actors Actors from Saint-Denis, ...

) starts to gain the favour of the 14-year-old King Louis in 1653 by giving him specially designed shoes for '' Ballet Royal de la Nuit''. His subsequent rise draws hostility from the old cadres of the court, particularly the royal composer Cambert ( Johan Leysen). Following

Cardinal Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...

's death, Louis ( Benoît Magimel) installs himself in full power as the king in 1661. He is now at stake with the religious establishment created and controlled by his mother

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (; ; born Ana María Mauricia; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was Queen of France from 1615 to 1643 by marriage to King Louis XIII. She was also Queen of Navarre until the kingdom's annexation into the French crown ...

(Colette Emmanuelle) at the

Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former French royal palace located on Rue Saint-Honoré in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre Palace, Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Ca ...

. On the other hand, Lully's animosity with Cambert comes to a novel dimension after Cambert's mistress Madeleine Lambert (Cécile Bois), the daughter of Michel Lambert, marries Lully in 1662. Lully and another

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

favourite, Molière (

Tchéky Karyo Tchéky Karyo (; born Baruh Djaki Karyo; 4 October 1953) is a Turkish-born French actor and musician. Beginning his career as an actor on stage in classical and contemporary works, he began to work as a character actor in films in the 1980s. He h ...

), are keen to further disarm the old court. The duo get to understand their own limitations when conflict becomes more manifest at events such as the staging (and consequent ban) of ''

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; , ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy (or more specifically, a farce) by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical theat ...

'' in 1664. Meanwhile, the passing years bring an end to Lully's position as the king's dance teacher and choreographer and he also has to face the emotional tensions growing with his wife's niece Julie ( Claire Keim), which will culminate at the gala of Cambert's '' Pomone'' in 1671.

Cast

* Benoît Magimel as

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

** Emil Tarding as the young Louis XIV *

Boris Terral Boris Terral (born 8 November 1969) is a French actor. He appeared in more than forty films since 1992. Selected filmography References External links

* 1969 births Living people French male film actors Actors from Saint-Denis, ...

* Johan Leysen as Robert Cambert * Cécile Bois as Madeleine Lambert * Claire Keim as Julie * Idwig Stéphane as Prince de Conti * Caroline Veyt as Armande Béjart * Ingrid Rouif as

Madame de Montespan Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise of Montespan (5 October 1640 – 27 May 1707), commonly known as Madame de Montespan (), was a French noblewoman and the most celebrated maîtresse-en-titre, royal mistress of King Lou ...

* Jacques François as Jean de Cambefort * Pierre Gérald as Jean-Baptiste Boësset * Vincent Grass as Archbishop of Paris * Jean-Louis Sbille as Spectator * Colette Emmanuelle (1943–2021) as

* Serge Feuillard as

Production

The film was shot on location at Versailles, as well as in other locations in France, Germany and Belgium. Sets for the film were built at MMC Studios in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

References

External links

*
BBC review of ''The King is Dancing''
2000 films 2000s historical films 2000s biographical drama films French historical drama films French biographical drama films Belgian historical drama films German historical drama films Films directed by Gérard Corbiau Films about classical music and musicians Films about composers Biographical films about musicians Films about Louis XIV Films set in 1653 Films set in 1661 Films set in 1662 Films set in 1664 Films set in 1671 Cultural depictions of Molière Cultural depictions of Cardinal Mazarin Cultural depictions of classical musicians French-language Belgian films 2000s French-language films Belgian biographical drama films German biographical drama films 2000s French films 2000s German films Cultural depictions of Anne of Austria 2000s Belgian films {{2000s-France-film-stub