After a three-year break and two lawsuits, Johnny Depp returns to the audience with the role of King Louis XV of France in a film that has been showing in Latvian cinemas for some time. The story centers on a love story between a king and his last great love.
The film “Jeanne Dibari. The King’s Favorite” is visually enjoyable, it does not lack either luxurious costumes or the baroque luxury of the Palace of Versailles (the film was shot in the palace in an authentic environment every Monday, when the palace is closed to visitors). Even the scenes that take place outside the luxurious rooms of the palace are pictorially and compositionally designed. The story itself is narrated by the narrator, whose voice seems to be Zhanna herself. This enhances the visual perception of the film and makes it easier for the audience to understand what is happening. Depp speaks little, his gestures, looks and facial expressions say everything. Even the intrigues of the court are depicted in the characters’ grotesque clothes or wigs. The supporting role is played by French cinema legend Pierre Richard. Who was Louis XV and his muse?
Like a flood after me
Louis XV, known as Louis the Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé) was the King of France (reigned from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774). He succeeded his father Louis XIV – the Sun King – at the age of five. By the time he came of age, then coming of age at age 13, France was ruled by his uncle, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans.
His reign of nearly 59 years was the second longest in French history, surpassed only by his father, Louis XIV, who reigned for 72 years. He has gone down in history as a king during which corruption thrived. However, historians and researchers dispute this view, stressing that this claim is propaganda by the French revolutionaries, as he was the last French king to die. His successor, Louis XVI, was guillotined during the French Revolution.
Another revolutionary propaganda claim that the king allegedly said: “After me, like a flood of water” is taken out of context. “Après nous, le déluge” (“After us the flood”) – this is usually explained as his indifference to financial excesses and a prediction of the coming French Revolution. This expression has been taken out of its original context. This is what the king said in 1757, when the Prussians defeated the French army at the Battle of Rosbach and tried to kill the king. The “flood” the king referred to was not the revolution, but the arrival of Halley’s Comet in 1757. It was predicted to pass by the earth. At the time, it was believed that this comet was responsible for causing the flood described in the Bible. The king was a skilled astronomer. Biographer Michel Antoine wrote that the king’s remark “was a way of recalling this biblical menace with its scientific approach and a good dose of black humor.” Halley’s comet passed the earth in 1759. in April of 2012 and caused enormous public attention and excitement, but without flooding.
The king’s famous lovers – two Jeannes
The king was a celebrated lover. At first, Louis was very fond of Queen Marie Leszczynska, or French Marie Caroline Sophie Felicite and in the early years of his reign they were inseparable, but as their family grew and the queen became increasingly pregnant (they had 10 children), he began to look elsewhere for love.
Madame de Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, known as Madame de Pompadour was the most famous and influential of Louis XV’s lovers. She was the illegitimate daughter of a Parisian general and was married to a banker. The king noticed him after some hunting and officially met him in 1745 at the carnival. Before long, she was the king’s favorite, officially given the title of Marquise de Pompadour. For the next twenty years, she was the king’s confidant and adviser, helping him choose both ministers and clothing.
After 5 years of intimacy, they broke up as lovers, but she remained the closest adviser and best friend. De Pompadour was promoted to duchess and lady-in-waiting to the queen.
She remained close to the king until her death in 1764. For several weeks after the death of his beloved, the king was devastated and remained alone in his apartments.
Who was Jeanne Dibari?
Jeanne Besu, the illegitimate daughter of a seamstress, was born in 1743 in northeastern France. Later she moved to Paris with her mother. With curly blonde hair and striking blue eyes, Jeanne was known as an exquisite beauty. She met the nobleman Jean-Baptiste Dubary, and later, marrying his younger brother Guillaume, became Madame Dubary.
When she met King Louis XV at Versailles, they immediately took a liking to each other. Although the monarch wanted to make Dibaree his own mistress-in-title (the main lover), he was forbidden to do so, because Jeanne was not a noble woman. The King and Jean-Baptiste Dubary arranged a marriage between Jeanne and Guillaume, raising her to the Countess of Dubary.
Jeanne du Barry was officially presented to the court of Versailles only in 1769. The countess was shunned by many courtiers, and her background as a courtesan became a frequent subject of gossip. After the king’s death in 1774, Madame Dibaree was banished from Versailles and sent to a convent.
When the revolution started, Dibarítika was captured and accused of treason. She was guillotined in 1793 shortly after Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
Etiquette, or whatever one had to do to become the king’s favorite
At the French court, a favorite did not mean only a sexual partner. Rather, the king’s favorite was the unofficial wife, who obeyed not only the king’s whims in bed, but was also an interlocutor, adviser, confidante.
France, like many places in Europe, was under the strong influence of the Roman Catholic Church, so the king had to be faithful before the church and God. In order to circumvent these rules, court etiquette was drawn up, or rules for bringing favorites into the court. First, she had to be married and noble. If the chosen one was from the people – like Jeanne du Barri, it was even more difficult to be accepted at court. Neither the marriage to a nobleman nor the given title prevented Madame du Barri from becoming a favorite.
A formal presentation to the king in the presence of the court was required. Although the king accepted his chosen one in front of everyone, the acceptance of the royal family was still needed.
And since the favorites were usually beautiful women, envy and competition were the real causes of conflict.
The most famous movies about the king’s favorite
There have been several other attempts to bring Dibari’s story to the screen, including Ernst Lubitsch’s silent film Passion (1920) and William Dieterl’s “Madame du Barry” (1934). More recently, in Sofia Coppola’s film Marie Antoinette, where the famous favorite has a supporting role, she was so powerfully portrayed (the role of the king’s favorite was played by the Italian actress Asia Argento) that it served as an inspiration for the director of this film, Maïweni, to make her own film about the courtesan.
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2023-10-03 17:46:20
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