The Death of Louis XIV (Albert Serra)

[Stay Puft]

THE DEATH OF LOUIS XIV
Dir. Albert Serra

http://i.imgur.com/orlJ4BY.jpg

IMDb page (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5129510/)

[Stay Puft]

I need to see more of Patrick d'Assumçao's work, because this is the second time now (after Stranger by the Lake) where the dude is lowkey the MVP (I didn't even recognize him here at first, either). Jean-Pierre Léaud as the Sun King is the big draw, obviously, the center of the galaxy around which all other players orbit, but it's Patrick as the Sun King's doctor, Fagon, who provides the movie's most resonant throughline, attempting a preposterous balancing act of reverence for his king, professional duty to treat the king's illness, and his own self-preservation. He delivers the last line, constituting one of the best movie endings in recent memory. It reminded me a bit of The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, particularly with the ending, and the way they deflate social ritual and the hubris of academic knowledge. One of the film's best (and most laugh out loud funny) sequences involves a group of doctors from the Academy berating another for being a charlatan with unscientific methods. Shout out to Vicenç Altaió (Casanova from Story of My Death) who shows up in this sequence as the charlatan, basically playing an 18th century Dr. Steve Brule. For your health.

[baby doll]

It's pretty terrific.

(And while I'm here, I might as well shamelessly include a link (http://offscreen.com/view/tiff-2016-the-backup-plan) to my TIFF festival report, where I touch on the film briefly. Incidentally, at the TIFF screening I went to, the first question was, "Why didn't they cut off his leg?!?" And then the whole thing got hijacked by this little old lady who wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with Serra for, like, twenty minutes.)