Rating: 
Summary: Hugely Enjoyable and Evocative Drama
Review: What an enjoyable and well conceived film!Set in the reign of Louis XIV of France this film perfectly evokes the era and skillfully draws one into the paranoia, intrigue and sycophancy of the king's circle; the eye of the storm around which all of 17th century France rotates. Excellent star turns from Gerard Depardieu, Uma Thurman and Tim Roth working through a great script by Tom Stoppard with strong visual direction and lavish design to create an absorbing and rewarding film. I won't give the story line away but there is romance, intrigue and skullduggery aplenty! This film will transport you to another era and immerse you in the ambiance of the court of the "Sun King". A very classy and enjoyable experience and wholeheartedly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Where was I?
Review: While sulking in the local video store because I wanted an oldie that, apparently, wasn't a classic and a new release that had been released to someone else, I rented Vatel. Ah, serendipity. This film is an eyefull with an ending that left me blinking rapidly . . . How did I miss this extraordinary film in theatrical release? (N.B. I am neither a Depardieu fan or a Francophile.)
Rating: 
Summary: One of the most depressing films around
Review: While the costumes and settings are extraordinary and the acting is quite good, there's little else here for the viewer to enjoy. It's difficult watching an hour and a half of hundreds of people making themselves miserable trying to please a childish king so that he might hire the owner of the chateau to go to war. The "good" characters are strongly outnumbered by the slimy ones, and when it's over I felt nothing but sadness and hopelessness, having seen how human beings were treated as nothing more than garbage by the members of the royal court. No characters here grow or change or learn--they only suffer. One character does make a change in her life, but does so by leaving, and we never even see how she comes to this dramatic decision--we just see her carriage driving off. The only purpose that I can see for this film is to present some documentation of the lavish extravagance that members of royalty were used to and expected, and to see to some extent how the royal court functioned and how people in it lived. Students of French royalty of the era might enjoy this for the costumes and settings, but the story definitely will let them down. The two stars are for the technical aspects, the acting, and the direction. Other than that, I wouldn't recommend this film at all, as there's little here to enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most depressing films around
Review: While the costumes and settings are extraordinary and the acting is quite good, there's little else here for the viewer to enjoy. It's difficult watching an hour and a half of hundreds of people making themselves miserable trying to please a childish king so that he might hire the owner of the chateau to go to war. The "good" characters are strongly outnumbered by the slimy ones, and when it's over I felt nothing but sadness and hopelessness, having seen how human beings were treated as nothing more than garbage by the members of the royal court. No characters here grow or change or learn--they only suffer. One character does make a change in her life, but does so by leaving, and we never even see how she comes to this dramatic decision--we just see her carriage driving off. The only purpose that I can see for this film is to present some documentation of the lavish extravagance that members of royalty were used to and expected, and to see to some extent how the royal court functioned and how people in it lived. Students of French royalty of the era might enjoy this for the costumes and settings, but the story definitely will let them down. The two stars are for the technical aspects, the acting, and the direction. Other than that, I wouldn't recommend this film at all, as there's little here to enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Piece de resistance!
Review: With Vatel, I took a chance because I just bought a DVD player and had to buy a DVD, naturally. I had enough reasons to buy this. After all I adore Depardieu, love France, "Amadeus", "Farinelli" and I love watching how French teams almost always win Paul Bocuse competion with sheer confidence. No wonder. Now I have a better understanding of history behind the French culinary arts, to say the least. I was also tired of waiting for the film "The King is Dancing (Le Roi Danse)" to come out on DVD in US. Buying Lully's music pacified me for a while. Any authentic movie about Roi Soleil would have done the job for me. The result was, "Wow!" As another viewer said, the historically accurate set design took my breath away. You really feel like you are there watching the show. It was like Behind the scenes and Up close and personal looks at the creation of finest food in the world. Vatel is simply grande, yet it is not phony or superficial. I enjoyed Depardieu's presence. Sure, it would have been better if he was speaking French, but with his level of acting, a lot is said when he is NOT speaking. Such profound emotion. Then again, I've been his fan for decades so I may not be very objective. Uma Thurman may be the only actress in America who can be in the French costume drama and not look out of place. She was very picturesque. Question: The colors in the film looks like as if it was filmed in B&W then tinted. I seem to remember only brown, gold(yellow) and lavender (blue) which leave strong impressions. Like the color of Vatel's parrots. Or was it just my TV's color setting?
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