Vatel (2000)

Fantastic!

Expected more

Dreadfully Boring

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

I watched this film with my sister-in-law, so this time you will be learning what I thought and what she thought about the film. We both agreed that the costumes and sets were amazing. It's obvious that the film makers had a lot of money and they did spend it. However, we were both wondering (and I hope someone out there can tell me more)--are the special effects, such as the incredible set that appears around King Louis XIV, anachronisms? In other words, while this really looked neat, was this even possible in the 17th century? We didn't know, but even today I doubt that such a spectacle would be that easy to create. However, we both felt that while the sets were nice and all, the characters themselves really didn't seem that deep or compelling (except for Vatel) and the relationship he forged with Anne. Nice to look at, of course, but not all that compelling much of the time.Here is where we both disagreed (I could tell, because she hit me over the head with a lamp when I told her I liked this): the ending. I loved the end, as it was a wonderful way for Gerard Depardieu's character to stand up to the King and make a statement about freedom. However, Linda (who's totally wrong) said it was just too depressing and hurt the film. And, now that I just read her this, I think I am afraid to go to sleep while I am visiting them! So, while we agreed on almost the whole film (she gave it a 6 and I gave it a 7), I was left feeling more positive about the film because I have a very high tolerance for depressing and dreadful endings that many people will not enjoy.Overall, not a great film but worth seeing--particularly if you like costume dramas.

I especially took an interest in the brief moment when the game of Billiards was being played, using a "shovel" style of paddle to move the balls around. It was quite obviously played as indoor croquet.I felt that the film conveyed the story of a downtrodden manager who attempted all for his master only to be shafted in the end. A brief fling with a courtesan, one that means much more to him than to her, contributes to his final act of frustration and despair.I'm sure that others will find historical inaccuracies, a fault of the production team, but I'm prepared to accept them as part of the process of bringing a story to film. Never let the facts get in the way of a good story telling.Altogether an interesting movie that makes a telling commentary on the excesses of the French aristocracy of the time.JC

SOME SPOILERS AHEADThe movie was mildly interesting as it describes (what I call) the "Martha Stewart" of 17th Century France, Francois Vatel. However, it just isn't interesting enough and I got bored very easily and very quickly. What saved this film was Gerard Depardieu's performance as the title character who organizes all the interior decorating, shows, and meals prepared for the coming of King Louis XIV to a chateau in Chantilly. Uma Thurman's performance as Vatel's love interest is well, below mediocre. I'd much rather watch paint dry or a pair of snails drag-race. Above all, I give this 2 out of five stars. The lush atomosphere also manages to save the film from a 1 star rating by me.

The story is about an intelligent and skilled man, who was working for a prince and had to prepare everything (food, parties, etc. ) to welcome and to host the king of France, who was very much impressed with the work done by this man, Vatel (Depardieu). The plot showed an efficient acting of Depardieu, and poor one from Uma Thurman and Tim Roth, probably due to the roles given by the director to them. The film went plain, i.e. emotions were scarce and suddenly the end gave us something unexpected, in fact the previous scenes for the end did not show any intensity to justify what we saw in the epilogue. I cannot understand whether Joffé wanted to make a joke or was really his intention to show a coherent film with well elaborated plot.