This film from Belgian director Gérard Corbiau is loosely based on a study by Philippe Beaussante entitled Lully ou le musicien du soleil concerning the life of Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687), composer and conductor to the court of Louis XIV. Louis XIV (1638-1715) was crowned at age five but took charge of things only in 1661 after the death of Cardinal Mazarin. He was fond of dancing as a boy and in 1651 performed publicly for the first time in Ballet de la Nuit accompanied by Lully. The composer later wrote other ballets for the young king and became his trusted adviser. At the king’s request he also composed music for the plays of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (better known as MoliŹre). The film focuses on the relationship between the king, Lully and MoliŹre, friendly for a time, later tainted by envy and especially by the coolness of the young monarch who had meanwhile matured into the Sun King.
115 min / Black & white, 35 mm
Director Gérard Corbiau
/ Screenplay Eve de Castro, Andrée Corbiau, Gérard Corbiau
/ Dir. of Photography Gérard Simon
/ Music Jean-Baptiste Lully
/ Editor Ludo Troch, Philippe Ravoet
/ Producer Dominique Janne
/ Production K-Star
/ Cast Benoit Magimel, Boris Terral, Tcheky Karyo, Colette Emmanuelle, Cécile Bois, Claire Keim, Johan Leysen, Idwig Stéphane, Emil Tarding, Jacques Francois, Caroline Veyt, Ingrid Rouif, Véronique Maille
Gérard Corbiau has made fifty documentaries for the Belgian television station RTBF. He made his first feature film in 1987, The Music Teacher (Le MaEtre de musique), nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar and honoured with the Jury Prize at the 1988 Rio de Janeiro IFF. Another film, Year of Awakening (L’année de l’éveil), was based on the autobiography of Charles Juliet. His film based on the life of an Italian singer-castrato, Farinelli (Farinelli, il castrato, 1994), was shown in competition at the 30th Karlovy Vary IFF and was nominated for a 1995 Oscar. It won a 1995 Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film and a French César for sound and set design.
First-hand brews throughout the year.
Be among the first to learn about upcoming events and other news. We only send the newsletter when we have something to say.
