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Vatel

Vatel

History · Drama · Romance · 2000

Vatel is the cook of Prince Condé. When the prince invites Louis XIV to hunt, he has to give lavish banquets in order to fall in his favour. But when Vatel falls in love with the king's mistress, love and duty conflict.

Movie details

Vatel

“Some men are too noble to live among aristocracy.”

2000 History · Drama · Romance 1h 43m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

Vatel is the cook of Prince Condé. When the prince invites Louis XIV to hunt, he has to give lavish banquets in order to fall in his favour. But when Vatel falls in love with the king's mistress, love and duty conflict.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Vatel?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Roland Joffé

Written by

Jeanne Labrune

Gérard Depardieu

Gérard Depardieu

Francois Vatel

Uma Thurman

Uma Thurman

Anne de Montausier

Tim Roth

Tim Roth

Marquis de Lauzun

Timothy Spall

Timothy Spall

Gourville

Julian Glover

Julian Glover

Prince de Conde

Julian Sands

Julian Sands

Louis XIV

Murray Lachlan Young

Murray Lachlan Young

Philippe d`Orleans

Court is in session

Put Vatel on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.