Vatel is a 2000 English-language film based on the life of 17th-century French chef François Vatel, directed by Roland Joffé and starring Gérard Depardieu, Uma Thurman and Tim Roth. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction - Set Decoration. A French-Belgian-British production, the film opened the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. The film takes place in 1671. In the prelude to the Franco-Dutch War, a financially struggling Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé is visited by King Louis XIV for three days of festivities at the Château de Chantilly. The... prince wants a commission as a general, and spares no expense in order to impress the king. In charge of organizing the event is François Vatel, Master of Festivities and Pleasures in the prince's household. Vatel is a man of great honor and talent, but of low birth. As the great Condé is prepared to do anything in his quest for stature, the tasks assigned to Vatel are often menial and dishonourable. While Vatel tries to sustain dignity amidst the extravaganza he is meant to orchestrate, he finds himself in love with Anne de Montausier, the king's latest lover, who returns his affections.
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| Release date: | December 25, 2000 |
| Directed by: | Roland Joffé |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 117 Minutes |
| Producer: | Roland Joffé |
| Music by: | Ennio Morricone |
| Cinematography: | Robert Fraisse |