La Mort de Louis XIV
Albert Serra / FR, 2016 / 115 min.
Albert Serra cast none less than Jean-Pierre Léaud in the role of the dying Louis XIV. After almost seventy-five years of absolute monarchy, ‘le Roi-Soleil’ dies, surrounded by a conspiring court. Portrait of a reign as a cunningly directed play.
The king returns from a walk and feels a burning pain in his leg. He is quickly felled by a fever and withdraws into his opulent sleeping quarters, surrounded by a hand-wringing court of servants, counsellors and physicians. His leg, turned black by gangrene, rests pontifically in a gilded cage.
OverwhelmingLa mort de Louis XIV was the first time director Albert Serra hired professional actors. For his visually overwhelming style, the Catalan artist/filmmaker drew inspiration from paintings. The extravagant wigs above the Louis’ collapsing face underline the king’s banality and nakedness as he is forced to acknowledge his superior: death.
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Details
Director
Albert Serra
Production year
2016
Country
FR
Original title
La Mort de Louis XIV
Length
115 min.
Language
French
Subtitles
ENG
Format
DCP
Part of
Albert Serra
Eye Filmmuseum presents the first exhibition in the Netherlands about the work of Catalan film and theatre director Albert Serra. Transforming the entire exhibition space into an immersive stage, Serra orchestrates nocturnal and clandestine encounters where theatre, cinema, and art converge.
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