Gérard Depardieu. Sexy leading man. Lover. Winemaker. Think Green Card with Andie MacDowell, think Cyrano de Bergerac. I thought that I would never get tired of watching him work in his movies. When I committed to reading books and watching movies set in France, I guess I didn't really think that there might be ones I didn't love, love, love. I'm really sorry to report that Vatel left me disappointed, but don't think it was Depardieu's fault. A great actor is only as good as his material.
Since France is now on my radar in ways that I have never before experienced, I was excited to see a review about a foodie movie in the North Shore magazine. In the wake of the enormous success of Julie & Julia, Vatel was recommended as another "foodie" costume drama for its depiction of the excesses in the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France. I tried to find it at my local rental outlets, but to no avail. After buying and viewing it, I know why it
was difficult to find.
Since France is now on my radar in ways that I have never before experienced, I was excited to see a review about a foodie movie in the North Shore magazine. In the wake of the enormous success of Julie & Julia, Vatel was recommended as another "foodie" costume drama for its depiction of the excesses in the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France. I tried to find it at my local rental outlets, but to no avail. After buying and viewing it, I know why it
was difficult to find.Vatel is the fictionalized story of the real-life chef Francois Vatel who was the "Maître d'hôtel" for Prince de Conde in 1671. When Louis XIV came to visit the out-of-favor and perilously "poor" Conde, Vatel was in charge of Festivities and Pleasures designed to feed and entertain Louis's court. Louis brings with him not only his queen, but count them, three mistresses! Then there's his nasty brother and all of the toadying courtiers who treat working people like dirt. It's a political catastrophe in the making, and if Vatel does not succeed in keeping the king and his court happy, the prince won't receive any money from the king and will go bankrupt. As the story unfolds, Vatel becomes disillusioned with how he is regarded by the nobility. I'm not going to tell you how it ends, but I guarantee it will make you sad. It will also make you think about how in the world Europe became so socially divided into the haves and have-nots. It is no wonder that the immigrants coming to America were willing to risk just about anything to get away from their lives under these repressive societies.
Depardieu opened the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and then the $37 million movie was premiered. "Reporters -- virtually to a man -- trashed both the opening ceremonies and the Gaumont film, which was shot in English. They reserved special criticism for Depardieu's performance. Associated Press writer Jocelyn Novak observed: "Some of Depardieu's lines end up sounding silly ... and occasionally he sounds like he doesn't exactly know what he is saying." Sheila Johnston writing in the British trade publication Screen International, described the movie as "this long, bloated piece, " but said that the star cast "might give it a moderate arthouse career' " (IMDb). Although it didn't win anything at Cannes that year, the movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction -- Set Decoration, but lost to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
I watched the movie again today, and it's kind of a guilty pleasure movie. The viewer is horrified by the behaviors of these real-life characters and the excesses of the time, but it's kind of hard to stop watching because you might miss the next horrible scene. Peter Travers at Rolling Stone said that "Vatel acts like a pre-Food Network Emeril taking time out for bedding a courtesan (Uma Thurman) and stopping the king's brother (Murray Lachlan Young) from buggering little boys. This putrid dish marks a new low for director Roland Joffe and - mon Dieu - he's the guy who gave us Demi Moore in The Scarlett Letter." And that's kind of it in a nutshell. Mon Dieu indeed.
Depardieu opened the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and then the $37 million movie was premiered. "Reporters -- virtually to a man -- trashed both the opening ceremonies and the Gaumont film, which was shot in English. They reserved special criticism for Depardieu's performance. Associated Press writer Jocelyn Novak observed: "Some of Depardieu's lines end up sounding silly ... and occasionally he sounds like he doesn't exactly know what he is saying." Sheila Johnston writing in the British trade publication Screen International, described the movie as "this long, bloated piece, " but said that the star cast "might give it a moderate arthouse career' " (IMDb). Although it didn't win anything at Cannes that year, the movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction -- Set Decoration, but lost to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
I watched the movie again today, and it's kind of a guilty pleasure movie. The viewer is horrified by the behaviors of these real-life characters and the excesses of the time, but it's kind of hard to stop watching because you might miss the next horrible scene. Peter Travers at Rolling Stone said that "Vatel acts like a pre-Food Network Emeril taking time out for bedding a courtesan (Uma Thurman) and stopping the king's brother (Murray Lachlan Young) from buggering little boys. This putrid dish marks a new low for director Roland Joffe and - mon Dieu - he's the guy who gave us Demi Moore in The Scarlett Letter." And that's kind of it in a nutshell. Mon Dieu indeed.
1 comment:
Jennie: Thanks for following me! I LOVE what you're doing here with French movies. I also love Depardieu. Do you know the movie CAMILLE CLAUDEL? Turgid but worth seeing, esp. for Gerard as the brilliant bastard Rodin . . . Linda
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