Die Geliebte des Papstes (2005)

From the seductive daughter of a fifteenth-century Pope to the manipulative wife of a powerful French king, the brief documentary Die Geliebte des Papstes (2005) profiles women who used their charm and intellect to shape the course of history. Jan Peter’s inquiry delves into the legacy of Lucrezia Borgia, the notorious femme fatale whose political and sexual corruption scathed the Renaissance Papacy. Peter goes on to profile Madame de Maintenon, the beautiful wife who strong-armed husband Louis XIV into curtailing religious freedoms. Most importantly, the documentarian allows history to come alive by side-stepping paintings and illustrations for scintillating reenactments, including one starring an irresistibly perky Cordelia Wege.