One worse fate would be to remain one of the critics' favorite human piņatas. That's a role the 55-year-old Joffé has had since he made such an impact in the '80s with "The Mission" and "The Killing Fields," two of the most acclaimed films of that decade. A brilliant, brutal tale of the Khmer Rouge's Cambodian holocaust, "The Killing Fields" took three Academy Awards in 1985 for best cinematography, best film editing and best supporting actor for Haing Ngor. "The Mission," Joffé's tragic tale of an 18th century Catholic mission in South America, netted a Oscar in 1987 for best cinematography in addition to the 1986 Palm d'Or at Cannes.

Joffé's subsequent films have mostly garnered raspberries. In particular, "The Scarlet Letter," starring Demi Moore and Gary Oldman as Hawthorne's favorite adulterers, provoked film scribes to pull out their literary Ginsu knives and slice up Joffé like a Hickory Farms smoked sausage. And affixing his name to MTV's popular sleaze-tease soap opera "Undressed" as executive producer hasn't exactly polished his rep with the scribblers. (Though it may have helped with studio brass.) No wonder he looks a bit gun-shy as we meet to discuss his latest film, "Vatel," an opulent $37 million re-creation of a weekend of frivolity and intrigue in the court of Louis XIV.

The film features Gerard Depardieu as renowned French steward and cook Francois Vatel. It's Vatel's task to please the mercurial, manipulative Sun King (Julian Sands) while avoiding the machinations of the monarch's cunning aide, the Marquis de Lauzun (Tim Roth in full "Rob Roy" mode) and winning the heart of Uma Thurman's Anne de Montausier, one of Louis XIV's ample-bosomed courtesans. "Vatel" is in the running for an Academy Award for best art direction after being released briefly late last year for Oscar consideration. It's being re-released today, and so far the reviews are mixed. Still, that's better than the perpetual flogging Joffé's been used to of late. So as "Vatel" heads for the theaters, he may finally have reason to hope that his fortunes are on the upswing.

In "Vatel," the title character must entertain an elite crowd with food and pageantry, yet despite his talent and hard work, he feels that his efforts are never enough to satisfy those he's serving. Is there some parallel there to your own position in the world of cinema?

Absolutely. When I read the first draft of the screenplay, I thought, "My God, this is about being a director." In some ways you're God. In other ways you're just a servant. You're a travel agent for the actors, saying, "No, you can't have Thursdays off," and, "I don't think a flight to Madrid is a great idea just now." You're dealing with their tantrums, their whims. And you're serving the studios, and their money. That role reversal is fascinating. Vatel and I are similar in other ways. I have a drive to tell stories like Vatel has a drive to cook.

What happens when that drive to tell stories becomes a commodity?

You get into very strange psychological territory. Other people are applying a value to what you're doing for their own purposes. Then your value systems start shifting. You're in constant confrontation with your personality. The drive to serve the king of France, or the public, or the studio is not quite the same as the drive to make great food or a great movie. There's a split, and you have to struggle between those two. I don't know whether I do it well or badly, but the struggle is real.

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