La Prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV

There are moments of subdued drama, and even some humor. But it does lean towards the didactic, and Patte seems to be constantly reading from cue cards or concentrating on hitting his marks. Bresson elicited minimalist performances from non-actors in ways that seemed to hint at hidden depths. Patte is utterly lacking in depth, he makes it feel like amateur hour. I can't say I didn't get anything out of this film. It was educational. It wasn't even terribly dull. Nothing special about it, though.

The political intrigue is interesting, the direction is good and the costumes are nice but despite wanting to like it the whole thing just felt a little dull. It was still good, but I have a hard time finding anything in it especially memorable.

This is the worst kind of period drama. It's stuffy and flat and boring. The costumes and sets aren't even interesting to look at. The acting... I mean, to my eyes there's barely any going on. Each scene feels twice as long as it needs to be. I mean, it's just painful.

What this film best shows is the alienation & temptation of grandiose one must have as being raised as royalty. Meanders for the first half before settling into its prime; with an impressive score to help. Jean-Marie Patte is another weak pick as lead by Rossellini, conveying the insecurity and fearful nature of the king with wavering success, the supporting cast does little in way of improvement.

For a TV movie, the studio managed some pretty good looking sets and costumes. Jean-Marie Patte gives an utterly incompetent lead performance, muttering his lines monotonously while staring at the floor or wall (depending on where Rossellini placed the cue cards, yeah, he was that bad). No revalations in the rest of the cast either. The script is all overt and blunt, which is a poor way of portraying court intrigue.

From what I understand this was a low budget TV movie, and given that, what Rossellini managed to put together is impressive, but it's dragged down considerably by many of the performances, especially the lead performance by Jean-Marie Patte. He gives a terrible performance and looks like he's reading off of cue cards the whole time, and I later read that he was a nonprofessional actor who was indeed reading off of cue cards. With a good cast it might have been something, but this was just dull.

O Absolutismo: A Ascensão de Luís XIV estreava há 55 anos no Festival de Veneza. Rossellini achava que a televisão poderia ser um meio de passar informação e conhecimento ao povo, por isso se voltou aos filmes históricos por esse meio nos últimos anos de sua vida, mas confesso que não consigo gostar tanto dessa fase quanto da primeira década do seu cinema. O trabalho de mise-en-scène é sofisticado e maravilhoso, mas a excessiva verborragia me incomoda um pouco.

While it's easy to appreciate how Rossellini applies his neo-realist sensibilities to the historical drama, and while the ornate costuming and painterly photography make for a sumptuous film, the story of the film ultimately feels disconnected, thanks in part to Patte's dry performance. There are admirable themes about the machinations of power in the past and today, the two-faced maneuvering of politicians and the nobility, and the essential role of common people in history, but it's unsteady.

A mannered lead performance perhaps more suited to Bresson, but all-in-all this film's unassuming perspective isn't far removed from Rossellini's neorealist roots. There's something disarming in its simplicity, foregoing psychoanalysis of its historic figures in favor of fascinating focus on the details of living (medical treatment, dress and decorum, banquet).

Ever-so-slightly more "cinematic" than Rossellini's later history films, but I didn't find it particularly engaging or memorable, even compared to Blaise Pascal or Cartesius, which at least explore interesting philosophical ideas. This one is more strictly historical and of limited interest to me. The lead actor does give a distinctive, almost Bressonian performance.