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  • Louis: The Child King (1993)
  • 160 min | Biography, Drama, History
Louis: The Child King (1993)
160 min | Biography, Drama, History

The title of this major French costume drama means "Louis, child-king", and indeed it's a fascinating fresco about the formative years of the young king Louis XIV, before he became the Sun-king at Versailles. It was a dark and violent ...See moreThe title of this major French costume drama means "Louis, child-king", and indeed it's a fascinating fresco about the formative years of the young king Louis XIV, before he became the Sun-king at Versailles. It was a dark and violent period, when the Louvre (meaning 'wolves hunt castle', hunting was a major aristocratic pastime), then still the somewhat gloomy royal palace, was the battle field of palace intrigues while the regency was held by queen-mother Anne of Austria but the actual head of the royal government was the aging cardinal Giulio Mazirini ('Mazarin'), the less-known Italian successor of Richelieu, who also introduced to the court and the kingdom a host of his countrymen from whom Louis would learn the passion for Italian culture, especially music which would flourish under the direction of Lully (but that later story is another movie, "Le Roi danse"). The elaborate script sketches the story of French power politics, too complicate and devious to summarize in any detail, but mainly from the viewpoint of the immature king under maternal guardianship, who probably didn't comprehend half of the grave troubles focusing on the strife between the official Catholic church and those claiming freedom of religion, especially for the Huguenots, but in reality mainly driven by personal and family ambitions and the grip of nobles on the kingdom at the expense of the royal power, and climaxing in a full rebellion, known as the Fronde, which forces the royal family to flee for their lives, an experience that may have decided Louis to dedicate his reign to preventing a repeat by establishing absolutism as he did. Some narration is done by Louis's younger brother Philip, the duke of Anjou, who seems smarter but as the spare heir is condemned to life in a golden cage, overshadowed by Louis while any 'disrespect' for his crowned sibling is punishable on the spot by strap lashes administered on his bare behind by a servant. Written by KGF Vissers See less
Read more: Plot summary
Director
Writer
Roger Planchon (scenario)
Cinematographer
Production Designer
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Status
Edit Released
Updated Apr 21, 1993

Release date
Feb 1, 1994 (United States)

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Cast

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52 cast members
Name Known for
Carmen Maura
Anne d'Autriche Anne d'Autriche   See fewer
Maxime Mansion
Louis XIV Louis XIV   See fewer
Paolo Graziosi
Mazarin Mazarin   See fewer
Jocelyn Quivrin
Philippe Duc d'Anjou Philippe Duc d'Anjou   See fewer
Hervé Briaux
Gaston d'Orléans Gaston d'Orléans   See fewer
Brigitte Catillon
Duchesse de Chevreuse Duchesse de Chevreuse   See fewer
Irina Dalle
Grande Mademoiselle Grande Mademoiselle   See fewer
Serge Dupire
Prince de Condé Prince de Condé   See fewer
Isabelle Gélinas
Duchesse de Chatillon Duchesse de Chatillon   See fewer
Michèle Laroque
Duchesse de Longueville Duchesse de Longueville   See fewer
Aurélien Recoing
Coadjuteur de l'Archevêque de Paris, futur Cardinal de Retz Coadjuteur de l'Archevêque de Paris, futur Cardinal de Retz   See fewer
Régis Royer
Prince de Conti Prince de Conti   See fewer
Vanessa Wagner
Charlotte de Chevreuse Charlotte de Chevreuse   See fewer
Maurice Barrier
Guitaud Guitaud   See fewer
Marco Bisson
Le duc de Nemours Le duc de Nemours   See fewer
Carlo Brandt
Duc de la Rochefoucauld Duc de la Rochefoucauld   See fewer
Isabelle Renauld
Mme de Beauvais Mme de Beauvais   See fewer
Jean-Pol Dubois
Abbé La Rivière Abbé La Rivière   See fewer
Frédéric Bazin
Colbert Colbert   See fewer
Thierry Bosc
Vicomte de Turenne Vicomte de Turenne   See fewer
Jacques Bourgaux
Le faux Mazarin Le faux Mazarin   See fewer
Marcel Bozonnet
Louis XIII Louis XIII   See fewer
Frédéric Constant
Marquis de Jarze Marquis de Jarze   See fewer
Elodie Frenck
La servante aux grands pieds La servante aux grands pieds   See fewer
Ezio Frigerio
Tonelli Tonelli   See fewer
Laurent Gamelon
Descouches Descouches   See fewer
Michèle Gleizer
Mme de Noirols Mme de Noirols   See fewer
Nathalie Krebs
Margueritte, duchesse d'Orléans Margueritte, duchesse d'Orléans   See fewer
Pierre-Jean Larroque
Le chanteur italien Le chanteur italien   See fewer
Lorenzo Lavia
Paolo Mancini Paolo Mancini   See fewer
Jean Leuvrais
Novion Novion   See fewer
Claude Lévèque
Le précepteur Le précepteur   See fewer
Sébastien Libessart
Marquis de Villequier Marquis de Villequier   See fewer
Jean-Pierre Malignon
Le professeur de musique Le professeur de musique   See fewer
Michèle Pezzin
Princesse de Condé Princesse de Condé   See fewer
Roger Planchon
Le vieux domestique Le vieux domestique   See fewer
Nathalie Rebondo
La fille du jardinier La fille du jardinier   See fewer
Elsa Saladin
Laura Mancini Laura Mancini   See fewer
Gérard Simon
Le préposé aux chandelles Le préposé aux chandelles   See fewer
Richard Sammut
Le duc de Châtillon Le duc de Châtillon   See fewer
Frédéric Tokarz
Le duc de Mercoeur Le duc de Mercoeur   See fewer
Yasmine Tomlinson
Une fille de Gaston d'Orléans Une fille de Gaston d'Orléans   See fewer
Layla Tomlinson
Une fille de Gaston d'Orléans Une fille de Gaston d'Orléans   See fewer
Max Vialle
Valot Valot   See fewer
Françoise Deniau
Danseuse (as Françoise Deniau-Leclerc) Danseuse (as Françoise Deniau-Leclerc)   See fewer
Marc LeClerc
Danseur (as Marc Leclerc) Danseur (as Marc Leclerc)   See fewer
Serge Ambert
Danseur (uncredited) Danseur (uncredited)   See fewer
Charles Berling
Petit rôle (uncredited) Petit rôle (uncredited)   See fewer
Anne-Marie Gardette
Danseuse (uncredited) Danseuse (uncredited)   See fewer
Nicolas N'Guyen
Danseur (uncredited) Danseur (uncredited)   See fewer
Natalie Van Parys
Danseuse (uncredited) Danseuse (uncredited)   See fewer
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