The King Dances (Le Roi danse) is a 2000 costume drama film co-written and directed by Gérard Corbiau based on Philippe Beaussant's biography of Jean-Baptiste Lully, Lully ou le musicien du soleil (1992). The film, presenting libertine Lully as a natural ally of the early Enlightenment figure Louis XIV of France in his conflicts with the Catholic establishment, focuses on Lully's personal relationship with the King, as well as his camaraderie with Molière and rivalry with Robert Cambert.
Contents
Plot
Lully starts to gain the favour of the 14-year-old King Louis in 1653 by giving him specially designed shoes for Ballet Royal de la Nuit. His subsequent rise draws hostility from the old cadres of the court, particularly the royal composer Cambert.
Following Cardinal Mazarin's death, Louis installs himself in full power as the king in 1661. He is now at stake with the religious establishment created and controlled by his mother Anne of Austria at the Palais-Royal. On the other hand, Lully's animosity with Cambert comes to a novel dimension after Cambert's mistress Madeleine Lambert, the daughter of Michel Lambert, marries Lully in 1662.
Lully and another Versailles favourite, Molière, are keen to further disarm the old court. The duo get to understand their own limitations when conflict becomes more manifest at events such as the staging (and consequent ban) of Tartuffe in 1664. Meanwhile, the passing years bring an end to Lully's position as the king's dance teacher and choreographer and he also has to face the emotional tensions growing with his wife's niece Julie, which will culminate at the gala of Cambert's Pomone in 1671.
Cast
Benoît Magimel as Louis XIV
Emil Tarding as the young Louis XIV
Boris Terral as Jean-Baptiste Lully
Tchéky Karyo as Molière
Johan Leysen as Robert Cambert
Cécile Bois as Madeleine Lambert
Claire Keim as Julie
Idwig Stéphane as Prince de Conti
Caroline Veyt as Armande Béjart
Ingrid Rouif as Madame de Montespan
Jacques François as Jean de Cambefort
Pierre Gérald as Jean-Baptiste Boësset
Vincent Grass as Archbishop of Paris
Jean-Louis Sbille as Spectator
Colette Emmanuelle (1943–2021) as Anne of Austria
Serge Feuillard as Cardinal Mazarin
Production
The film was shot on location at Versailles, as well as in other locations in France, Germany and Belgium. Sets for the film were built at MMC Studios in Cologne.