A period piece, kind of. 1682... designing the gardens at Versaille. what might have happened. WAY before the peoples' uprising. the big name here seems to be Alan Rickman as King Louis. and Kate Winslet had been nominated for a bunch of her earlier works, and WON for Titanic! Mrs. DeBarra (Winslet) is one of the candidates to be the design artist for the royal gardens. not a lot of in depth character development, but we see the relationship between DeBarra, LeNotre, and LeNotre's wife. and some side plot about the politics of hiring just the "right" work crew to do the heavy lifting. was that the revenge of another architect not chosen? not quite sure what happened there. and so many things are up in the air when the Queen dies. a fun interlude where DeBarra mistakes the king for a gardener. but they have a very candid, pleasant talk. it's an interesting coincidence that this story with Louis XIV is about interactions with De Barre, while the Lucille Ball film DuBarry Was a Lady is about a relationship Louis XV ! Directed by Rickman himself! one of the two films he directed. it's actually good! tells a good story, doesn't get too deep in any one direction. Netflix. i'm surprised at the low ratings.

I do believe that the movie is slow, it is somehow predictable, it lacks action. BUT the scenes are very flowy, fluid, calm, precise. The camera movements are smooth, delicate. The sounds are warm. The music is outstanding, the atmosphere can be described as cosy, intimate, friendly. It is not a gardening movie but the flowers add color to it, the sceneries, the woods, the gardens are fascinating. Alan Rickman is a very good actor, a very good king. Stanley Tucci did an awesome job as well. KATE WINSLET. Oh God, Kate Winslet is the best "thing" that has ever happened to the film industry. I really like the fact that Sabine is not a 20 year old girl. Even though she is the main character, she doesn't do much, Kate still managed to make her interesting, to give her depth. The flood since was a nice flashback, Kate is "into" water.. if you know what i mean. I don't know if it is historically accurate, but Sabine is fictional. It's a movie, it shouldn't be criticized. It is not the most interesting movie ever, but the cast and the used techniques are worthy of attention.

André Le Nôtre (Matthias Schoenaerts) is a respected landscaping working for King Louis XIV of France (Alan Rickman) after his mother Queen's death. He interviews Sabine de Barra (Kate Winslet) to create an outdoor ballroom at Versailles. She lost her husband and daughter. Her vision clashes with his need for order. The interview goes badly but he accepts advise from his father. She gains notice at the Royal court and by the King. She gets closer to André raising the ire of his wife.

The Royal court intrigue is muddled. The characters and their relationships are given little time or effort. That limits any dramatic ability from that element. Matthias Schoenaerts is quiet in his acting to the point of inert. There is one shinning star that this story revolves around and that is Kate Winslet. She is powerfully reserved and emotionally expansive. She never fails to deliver. There are some unexpected turns while the main relationship has limited drama. This is all about Winslet and her ability to carry this movie.