paul2001sw-1 The late Alan Rickman directed and co-starred in this curiopusly pointless film; it was one of his last projects. At heart, it's a deeply conventional (and conservative) period love story, with Kate Winslett playing a feisty, talented gardener trying to prove herself and find happiness in the perfidious world of the French royal court. Fortunately for her, she wins the mind of the king, and (in spite of some shennanigans) everything turns out beautiful and happy-ever-after. I've rarely seen a less class-conscious movie: I may not like the politics of Jane Austen, but at least she's aware of class as an issue; but this film is a banal tribure to talented women and the glory of Versailles. It's a waste of the cast, who act their parts but have little of interest to show us.

Edmund Bloxam The setting of the movie is appropriately 18th century, the way the characters act so too. They even seem to speak (mostly) like it too: sometimes they construct long, florid sentences, and sometimes the king takes his wig off and talks about money.It is not a glitzy romance, because the romance is suitably subtle (it thus also reflects the period). The romance is conducted, until near the end, almost entirely in subtext. Is it a perfect picture of 18 century France? Probably not, but, like the Gardens of Versailles, which are the true main character of this thoughtful drama, they have enough rough edges to feel real.

Reno Rangan I am little surprised with the film, because I was not expecting this storyline. I mean a good one. You know usually periodic film means there's always romance or war, but this one proved there are more topics to revolve and to reveal to the viewers. Yes, this one mainly talks about the engineering, especially gardening. Of course, romance was a part of it, but I loved the blend between these two subjects. One of the best periodic drama I've seen and all the stars were brilliant, particularly Kate Winslet was the best. Matthias Schoenaerts and Alan Rickman was not bad either.The tale begins with a widowed woman preparing for an interview to get the newly proposed royal gardening project. After some obstacles she gets it, but while the work is in progress, she faces some ups and downs. Besides a feeling for her boss grows intensively and also after an unexpected encounter with a royal member, things around her begins to change. So the deadline is nearing, but lots of work to complete, how she manages all the issues, including deciding about her new romance is what the rest of the narration reveals.This is not those colourful costumed female oriented films. This is about the profession at the top and the married life issues on a small scale. My first appreciation goes to the writers and then the director. But the actors did their part as I mentioned earlier to make it happen. I would have said it is a fine family film, but the film had matured contents, so it is a fine film for the grown-ups. I definitely recommend it.8/10

dbdumonteil This is often passed over in silence but many workers died during those titanic (no pun intended) works:sometimes crushed under blocks ,they had to drain the swamps:a suicide because of the mosquitoes who transmitted marsh fever ,in other words,Paludism:men fell like flies.Saint-Simon talks about wagons of corpses ;they forced the workers into this living hell ,they had to live on the spot and were not allowed to see their wives and kids anymore ;some of them rebelled and threw blocks onto the foremen from the scaffolds ;the king called on the army.Many men were sentenced to death and hanged .Les Jardins Du Roy,it's a paradise (as depicted by the Sun King himself in the movie),but it's also that.Let's be lenient for the historical mistakes :Le Nôtre was 25 older than Louis XIV -and was not the vivacious handsome landscape gardener who woos Madame De Barra .He would not begin,in the kingdom of France , his letter with the word 'dear"!!Madame De Barra is pure fiction :one cannot imagine,at the time ,a female landscape architect -think that a hundred years later ,mathematician Sophie Germain had to take a male pseudonym to be able to continue her work on prime numbers- is thoroughly implausible ;it takes all Mrs Winslet's talent to make the character endearing.On the plus side ,in spite of an obvious lack of means (we are in the grandiose court of the Sun King,all the same!) ,there's an interesting depiction of the atmosphere of the courtiers;It's the first time I've seen a portrayal of Philippe D'Orleans ,Monsieur Frère Du Roi ,in accordance with historian Philippe Erlanger's book,which was not so in previous "Vatel" ,let alone the "Angélique Marquise Des Anges" saga : he is gay but his second wife ,La Princesse Palatine depicts him as " a brave man at war ,generous with the defeated ";actually they mutually agreed they would sleep apart,after she gave birth to heirs .A nice cinematography(superb finale) ,good acting by the whole cast ,let's forget history,and let's not deny ourselves a good moment.