Review of The Death of Louis XIV

Stately is the word for this film in which nothing happens all at once. It boasts arguably the greatest number of close-ups in the history of the Cinema and is shot with a touching concern for the light bill of the Producer(s) in muted tones with dialogue seldom rising above a murmur. If you like this sort of thing then this is the sort of thing you'll like. Director Albert Serra is a new name to me but the leading man, Jean-Pierre Leaud is indelibly associated with something called the Nouvelle Vague which is anathema to me and I doubt if I have ever knowingly seen him on screen. Having said that he can't be faulted at lying supine thanks to a gangrenous left leg. Serra definitely establishes a mood albeit downbeat.