The Rise of Louis XIV
1966 · Movie · 100 min. · France
1661: Cardinal Mazarin dies. In the power vacuum, the young Louis asserts his intention to govern as well as rule. Mazarin's fiscal advisor, Colbert, warns against Fouquet, the Surintendant who's been systematically looting the treasury and wants to be prime minister. Fouquet believes Louis will soon tire of exercizing power; he overplays his hand, offering a bribe to Louis's mistress to be his ally. She reports this to the king who arrests Fouquet. Louis and Colbert design a brilliant strategy to keep merchants making money, nobles in debt, the urban poor working and fed, and peasants untaxed. Years later, in a coda, we see Louis exercising the power of the sun.
Direction Roberto Rossellini
Cast Jean-Marie Patte · Raymond Jourdan · Jean Baptiste Colbert · Silvagni · Katharina Renn · Dominique Vincent · Pierre Barrat · Fernand Fabre · Françoise Ponty · Joëlle Laugeois · Maurice Barrier · André Dumas
Screenplay Philippe Erlanger · Jean Gruault
Cinematography Georges Leclerc · Jean-Louis Picavet
Original title La prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV
7.3
421 votes (FilmAffinity)
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