The Death of Louis XIV

Released Mar 31, 2017

1h 50m

History

Drama

Biography

List

88%

Tomatometer

56 Reviews

59%

Audience Score

100+ Ratings

Upon returning from a hunting expedition, King Louis XIV feels a sharp pain in his leg. He begins to die, surrounded by loyal followers in the royal chambers.

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Critics Consensus

The Death of Louis XIV will frustrate viewers out of sync with its deliberate pace, but those with the patience to settle in may be rewarded with a thoughtful, finely detailed drama.

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Ela Bittencourt

Frieze

In the final scenes,... the painterly mise-en-scene and cinematography - golden and ochre hews, Venetian reds, soft camera focus and the glowing whiteness of doctors' caftans, illumined by multiple light sources a la Vermeer - turn death into a feast.

Aug 8, 2018

Full Review

Simon Crook

Empire Magazine

Serra's sad, stately, haunting addition to the slow-cinema genre doubles up as both an intimate study of the Sun King's death and a requiem for Europe's fading arthouse scene.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 17, 2017

Full Review

Simran Hans

Observer (UK)

Flashes of comedy soon give way to an atmosphere of quiet, inevitable tragedy.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 16, 2017

Full Review

Dustin Chang

ScreenAnarchy

The irony of the king's death is heightened by its straightforward presentation and procedural approach. The Death of Louis XIV is a very singular formalist filmmaking in its highest order.

Jul 17, 2020

Full Review

Laura Davis

One Room With A View

Serra's representation of a king as prisoner within his own body neatly subverts the tropes of historical dramas about royalty.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 1, 2019

Full Review

Tanner Tafelski

Hyperallergic

Set almost exclusively in Louis' bedchamber, the film is both boring and riveting, grand and minimal.

Oct 25, 2018

Full Review

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Audience Member

Anyone willing to stick through this movie should see a doctor and get your head checked just awful

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This was listed as one of the best movies 0f 2017 and was interesting. King Louis XIV is the longest ruling monarch in European history and even he had to die. This is about his last two weeks, mostly in bed, and, of course, all in French. (It was a rainy cold day!)

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Serra and Leaud collude to portray suffering as the unseen protagonist - the suffering of the King and the suffering of the audience. The dark scene, the plodding drawn out agony of the King, and the subtle but evocative performance of Leaud are at once boring and fascinating. Finally, in a film devoid of the background music that instructs the audience how it ought to feel, a dramatic up-swell of Mozart seems to herald the end we've all been waiting for. Leaud stares directly into the camera, panting, suffering, while Mozart demands that our hearts race, that tension builds... for no reason. The King isn't dead yet. Suffering will not even pay heed to Mozart. To be brief, this film was fantastic. If you adore sumptuous, over dramatic, corset rippers, you will probably hate it. It was the kind of organic, realistic, portrayal of European nobility that is so lacking in so many popular franchises (I'm looking at you Tudors and Versailles). I wish there was more.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Painterly but completely claustrophobic as we inch our way through the agonizing death spiral of Louis XIV. Why? For a few kernels of period quackery.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

On the end of an absolute monarch and the advent of modern day medecine. On the gap between interpersonal human empathy and public, political interests.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

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Albert Serra

Director

Jean-Pierre Léaud

Louis XIV

Patrick d'Assumçao

Fagon, le médicin

Marc Susini

Blouin, le valet de chambre

Irène Silvagni

Madame de Maintenon

Bernard Belin

Mareschal, le chirurgien

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Synopsis

Upon returning from a hunting expedition, King Louis XIV feels a sharp pain in his leg. He begins to die, surrounded by loyal followers in the royal chambers.

Director: Albert Serra
Screenwriter: Albert Serra, Thierry Lounas
Distributor: Cinema Guild
Production Co: Doco Digital
Genre: History, Drama, Biography
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 31, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 22, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $43.6K
Runtime: 1h 50m

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