THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES
With epic proportions of Shakespearean tragedy, THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES follows two unique characters, whose rags-to-riches success stories reveal the innate virtues and flaws of the American Dream. The film begins with the family triumphantly constructing the biggest house in America, a 90,000 sq. ft. palace. Over the next two years, their sprawling empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic crisis. Major changes in lifestyle and character ensue within the cross-cultural household of family members and domestic staff.
“GRADE A! Succulently entertaining. The next big documentary-as-cultural touchstone.”
-Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
“A gaudy guilty pleasure that is also a piece of trenchant social criticism. A sprawling, richly detailed study of ambition, desire and the wild swings of fortune. If this film is a portrait, it is also a mirror.”
-A.O. Scott, NY Times
“Excellent and unexpectedly nuanced.”
–Sheri Linden, LA Times
“A brilliant metaphor for everything screwed up about the U.S. economy and the culture that shaped it.”
–David Edelstein, NEW YORKER
Directed by lauded filmmaker and photographer Lauren Greenfield, who won the U.S. Directing Award for Documentary Film at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for this film, THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES is a character-driven documentary about a billionaire family and their financial challenges in the wake of the economic crisis.
Directed by Lauren Greenfield. Rated PG.
USA, 2012, Digital Projection, 100minutes, Color, English.