Farewell, My Queen (2012)

This is a French movie, set early in the day of July 14, 1789, at the royal palace of Versailles. It was not yet a date fraught with destiny. In the rat-swarming servants' quarters, our heroine is a young woman named Sidonie Laborde , lady in waiting to the queen.  She slaps at mosquito bites, hurries through her toilet, and runs toward her appointment with Marie Antoinette. She is the official reader to the queen, and this position gives her a limited stature and some access to the royal life of luxurious decadence.
Over the next three days, we will witness life at Versailles exclusively through the eyes of Sidonie. Reports arrive at Versailles that the Bastille has been stormed, and although this is never publicly acknowledged, it spreads as circles of rumor through the ranks of the servants, some of whom perhaps only vaguely understand what it means — and what it will mean for them personally. The vast, all-powerful edifice of the French monarchy will be swept away in a matter of days, and Marie Antoinette and her husband Louis XVI will inevitably be beheaded.  It is a lushly costumed movie with a slowly changing tone, from calm to urgency, that is very enjoyable to watch.