The Death of Louis XIV

Catalan director Albert Serra (Birdsong, Pacifiction) continues his contemplative series of studies of legendary figures, both real and fictional (Don Quixote, the Magi, Casanova) with this elegant, mesmerising evocation of the last days of the Sun King. The legendary Jean-Pierre Léaud brings ineffable presence to the title role.

Beautifully shot by Jonathan Ricquebourg, the film portrays the arcane system of court protocol while powerfully evoking the distance between the physical body of a decrepit mortal and the mythical being of the monarch as God. A film of stately beauty and philosophical depth.