This 1998 movie is a delightful take on the Cinderella fairy tale, largely due to the personality and talent of Drew Barrymore who effortlessly blends innocence and feistiness as Danielle de Barbarac who, after her father dies, is downgraded to a servant by her harsh and greedy stepmother (Angelica Houston). Also in attendance of course are two stepsisters (Megan Dodds and Melanie Lynskey) though they are far from ugly, and the latter has quite a lot of sympathy with poor put-upon Danielle.
Enter a handsome, dashing Prince Charming, in the form of 16th century real-life Henri (Dougray Scott), son of the French King, Francois I (Timothy West). He falls for Danielle, under the impression that she is a noble lady, not a commoner and menial, and lots of misunderstanding and intrigues ensue. One of the cleverer aspects of the film is the presence of Leonardo da Vinci (Patrick Godfrey) who was in fact brought to France (where he died) by Francois. Another realistic surprise is some sharp social criticism - voiced by Danielle - partially based on Thomas More's book, Utopia, whose publication pre-dated Henri.
Where, however, the screenplay is a fairy tale of its own is that Henri far from being charming was ruthlessly cruel when he became King Henri II; also, needless to say, there was no Danielle de Barbarac in his life. The film was shot in France, with lots of picturesque scenery and châteaux to admire. Finally, another good reason to view this movie is a brief appearance by Jeanne Moreau in her 70th year; but this was by no means her final film - according to IMDb, she's made another 15 since then!.
Enter a handsome, dashing Prince Charming, in the form of 16th century real-life Henri (Dougray Scott), son of the French King, Francois I (Timothy West). He falls for Danielle, under the impression that she is a noble lady, not a commoner and menial, and lots of misunderstanding and intrigues ensue. One of the cleverer aspects of the film is the presence of Leonardo da Vinci (Patrick Godfrey) who was in fact brought to France (where he died) by Francois. Another realistic surprise is some sharp social criticism - voiced by Danielle - partially based on Thomas More's book, Utopia, whose publication pre-dated Henri.
Where, however, the screenplay is a fairy tale of its own is that Henri far from being charming was ruthlessly cruel when he became King Henri II; also, needless to say, there was no Danielle de Barbarac in his life. The film was shot in France, with lots of picturesque scenery and châteaux to admire. Finally, another good reason to view this movie is a brief appearance by Jeanne Moreau in her 70th year; but this was by no means her final film - according to IMDb, she's made another 15 since then!.