The Silent King - Louis XVI
Louis XVI is a king mostly remembered as a coward. As weak. Slow. The tyrant that rolled over. His execution helped abolish absolute monarchy and usher in a new republic of France. It was instrumental in the path towards representational government in the West. In a sense, he’s a martyr for peace. He is not celebrated as such.
This purportedly pious king said upon arriving at the gallows for his execution: “I wish that my blood may be able to cement the happiness of the French.” In a written letter to his son, he him to forgive everyone who caused harm to the family. If true, this is a remarkable sentiment of forgiveness - mostly interpreted as a weakness.
Maybe it is this way because it is not his action but rather his inaction that sealed his fate. Yet he is an essential cog in the machine of human history. Not because of his birthright but due to his character. In reality, anybody we may judge as a poor character is still essential to something. Even those whom embody laziness or ineptitude. They are part of the composite of who we are today as a species. They are also a reflection of what we are not happy with within ourselves.
This is why I make films about ordinary people and ordinary things. They are fascinating. Paradoxically, the most remarkable aspect of Louis XVI’s reign is how ordinary he was. He was no leader, not fit to be king. He was a simple man born into the wrong place at the wrong time.
~ Schmüdde
