Vatel (film)
Vatel is a 2000 FrenchBritish historicaldrama film directed by Roland Joff, written by Jeanne Labrune and translated by Tom Stoppard, and starring Grard Depardieu, Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Timothy Spall, Julian Glover and Julian Sands. The film, based on the life of 17thcentury French chef Franois Vatel, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction Set Decoration. The film opened the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.
In the last day of the visit by the King Louis XIV, Vatel realizes that he is nothing more than a puppet in the hands of his superiors, bought and sold like a piece of property, after learning that the Prince of Cond has lost him in a card game with the King. Disheartened and refusing to leave his people the servants of the Chteau and go to work for the King, Vatel consequently commits suicide by throwing himself on his sword. Nevertheless, the word that goes to the King by his own court members is that Vatel killed himself because the roast was not sufficient to feed several unexpected guests, the clouds dulled the fireworks display and he lacked confidence that there would be enough fish for the morning meal. This explanation pleases the King very much. Anne de Montausier is griefstricken upon hearing the news, but knows she must not speak of it. In doing so, she flees the court quietly and no one ever hears about her and Vatel again.Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports thatofsurveyed critics gave the film a positive review the average rating is 4.610. The sites consensus reads Visually sumptuous, but unengaging. Metacritic rated it 44100 based onreviews. David Stratton of Variety wrote, Vatel, a noexpensespared costumer, is further proof that all the money and technical expertise in the world are no substitutes for a good screenplay and creative direction. Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times called it a costume drama with far more costumes than drama. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it a timeless tale of love and sacrifice in a world as opulent as it is cruel. ........
Source: Wikipedia
