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To reach a wider audience, François Vatel had to wait for Gerard Depardieu, who played him in Roland Joffé’s 2000 film, Vatel, with music by Ennio Morricone.
Presented out of competition at the Cannes Festival, the movie tells the story of the Master of Ceremonies for Louis II of Borbon-Condé, the Prince of Condé, who oversaw the celebrations welcoming the Sun King in April of 1671. Several of the historical references – like the final seafood banquet given on Good Friday, when the seafood arrived late and the chef ended up committing suicide – are mixed in with more “imaginative” episodes. While his relationship with the Duchess of Montauisier (a character based on the historical Julie d’Angennes, played by Uma Thurman) is one of the film’s major components, it’s actually not backed up by any factual evidence.
To view the English language trailer, click here. The dvd of the movie is available here.
