Cardinal Mazarin dies, leaving a power vacuum in which the young Louis asserts his intention to govern as well as rule. Mazarin's fiscal advisor, Colbert, warns against Fouquet, the Superintendant who has been systematically looting the treasury and wants to be prime minister. Fouquet believes Louis will soon tire of exercizing power and overplays his hand by offering a bribe to Louis' mistress to be his ally. She reports this to the king who arrests Fouquet. Louis and Colbert design a brilliant strategy to keep merchants making money, nobles in debt, the urban poor working and fed, and peasants untaxed. Years later, in a coda, we see Louis exercizing the power of the sun.

Movie rating: 7.1 / 10 (1770)

Directed by: Philippe Erlanger - Roberto Rossellini - Jean Gruault

Writer credits: Philippe Erlanger - Philippe Erlanger - Jean Gruault

Cast: Jean-Marie Patte - Raymond Jourdan - Silvagni - Katharina Renn - Dominique Vincent

AKA: La prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV, The Rise of Louis XIV, El ascenso de Luis XIV

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