The Royal Exchange

1721. After long wars France and Spain are both bankrupt. To secure peace and an alliance the two sides make an agreement: they will exchange their children. Louis, the king of France, is eleven and will be betrothed to a four year old Spanish princess. In return the twelve year old French princess Louise Élisabeth will go to Spain and marry the heir. The children are exchanged at the border. Both courts expect these marriages to work and the children do not know what it means. Marc Dugain directs. Lambert Wilson, Anamaria Vartolomei and Olivier Gourmet are in the cast. The source is Chantal Thomas's novel. The event behind the narrative is historical: the exchange of children between the two houses really took place and was cancelled a few years later. The matter it works at is political calculation carried out through children; the narrative shows it not as emotional drama but as a transaction. Court life is reconstructed in detail: the order of ceremony, the dressing scenes and protocol are part of the narrative. The French princess played by Anamaria Vartolomei is at the centre and the character refuses to adapt. The visual work is cold and distanced; the camera rarely comes close. Its limit is pace; the events move slowly and the inner life of the characters is barely given. Who it is for: viewers who like French period films and court narratives. Who it is not for: the pace is very slow, attachment is hard, and the subject is uncomfortable.