Moliere
by Laurent Tirard
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Actor: Edouard Baer, Fabrice Luchini, Laura Morante, Ludivine Sagnier, Romain DurisDirector: Laurent Tirard
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Gilles Henry
Writer: Laurent Tirard
Editor: Gilles Granier
Producer: Christine De Jekel
Producer: Marc Missonnier
Producer: Olivier Delbosc
Writer: Grégoire Vigneron
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1
Running Time: 120 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-01-22
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Moliere
DVD Review: "This type of comedy does not exist." Well, then... invent it
Summary: 5 Stars
It's fitting that Molière is buried in Cimetière du Père Lachaise, alongside such poets and artists as Honoré de Balzac, Guillaume Apollinaire, Sarah Bernhardt, Georges Bizet, Frédéric Chopin, Eugène Delacroix, Isadora Duncan, Stéphane Grappelli, Amedeo Modigliani, Jim Morrison, Yves Montand, Édith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Gioacchino Rossini, Georges-Pierre Seurat, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, and Oscar Wilde. At the time of his death actors by law were not allowed to be buried in the sacred ground of a cemetary, but Molière's widow begged the king, and he was buried in the part of the cemetery reserved for unbaptized infants. In 1817 his remains were transferred to Cimetière du Père Lachaise, close to the burial plot of La Fontaine.
The 2007 film, Molière, is based loosely on his life; think Shakespeare in Love--or maybe more like Molière in Love. In it the young actor/playwright Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (nom de plume, Molière) is sprung from debtor's prison to tutor Jourdain, a merchant, in the ways of stagecraft so that he might impress the lovely Célimène (Ludivine Sagnier). To keep his wife Elmire (Laura Morante) from getting suspicious of his intended affair Jourdain has him masquerade as a priest, Tartuffe, who is ostensibly there to tutor his daughter. Hijinks ensue, no doubt the raw material Molière would later incorporate into his play, Tartuffe ou l'Imposteur, with more great stuff left over for Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, and lines and situations from the film show up in many of his other plays. If you are not familiar with his work, you can still enjoy the movie--it serves as a great introduction to his oeuvre. If you are familiar with them, all the better.
Romain Duris does a fantastic job portraying Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. He is an actor who never intended to be one, but was just spotted in a crowd and offered the opportunity and he hasn't looked back since. I remember him from 2005's De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté, aka The Beat That My Heart Skipped, where he played thug/Real Estate Agent/pianist Thomas Seyr. He is good at juggling complex personalities--i.e. sensitive thugs.
Fabrice Luchini is also very good as le bourgeois gentilhomme M. Jourdain. Laura Morante plays his lovely wife Elmire Jourdain well. She inspires the young playwright as he tries to seduce her, and by inspires, I mean she inspires him to reach higher in his writing, to invent a new kind of comedy that incorporates tragic elements as well.
Edouard Baer also stood out as the titled Dorante, and some of the exchanges between him and Jourdain provided superb comic moments.
Last but not least Ludivine Sagnier was stunning as Célimène. She can be seen if not heard in the 2003 film Peter Pan as Tink, or seen and heard in many fabulous French films such as 2002's 8 Femmes.
Célimène: What angel sent you to make us laugh like this? We're so dreadfully starved for entertainment.
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin: What, madame? I thought the greatest minds jostled their way in here.
Peter Pan (Widescreen Edition) (2003) .... Ludivine Sagnier was Tink
8 femmes (2002) .... Ludivine Sagnier was Catherine
... aka 8 Women
De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté (2005) .... Romain Duris was Thomas Seyr
... aka The Beat That My Heart Skipped
If I Were King [VHS] (1938)
Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast (Belle et la bête, La) ~ (New, Remastered Edition) ~ [Import](All-region) (1946)
Children of Paradise / Les Enfants du paradis / Children of the Gods. PARTS 1 and 2 (1945)
The Doors (Special Edition) (1991)
Total Eclipse (1995)
aka "Rimbaud Verlaine" - France
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
aka "Die Regenschirme von Cherbourg" - Germany
aka "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" - USA
Elmire Jourdain: Unhappiness has comic aspects one should never underestimate.
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin: How could I joke about that which makes me weep? This type of comedy does not exist.
Elmire Jourdain: Well, then... invent it.
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Description of Moliere
Bubbling with wit, stellar performances and lavish cinematography, Molière stars multi-Cesar®-nominated French actor Romain Duris as Molière, a down-and-out actor-cum-playwright up to his ears in debt. When the wealthy Jourdain (Cesar®-winner Fabrice Luchini) offers to cover that debt (so that Molière's theatrical talents might help Jourdain win the heart of a certain widowed marquise), hilarity ensues. Disguised as a priest, Molière becomes a guest in Jourdain's palace on the pretext of teaching Jourdain the craft of the stage, which annoys his wife, Elmire. But, soon after, the confrontation between Elmire and Molière turns seductive. Too busy to notice, Jourdain enlists the aid of a well connected and scheming acquaintance, to help him pursue the young widow. Romantic yearning, human foibles and laughs galore all characterize Molière, a delightful film that slyly captures your heart.
Stills from Molière (click for larger image)
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If most comedians secretly want to be tragedians, the famous, 17th century French actor-playwright Moliere was no exception, as is comically obvious in Moliere. Somewhat like Shakespeare In Love, Moliere is a work of fiction linking several of the bard?s most famous works with an imagined, personal experience leading to the writer?s inspiration. When we first meet Jean-Baptiste Poquelin--a.k.a. Moliere--he has been asked by the French king to perform something new as a show of gratitude for being given a theater. Moliere, best known for his comedies The Misanthrope and Tartuffe, is anxious to write a drama, but his royal fans (and, for that matter, everyone else) won?t hear of such a thing. Approached by a young woman who asks him to visit her dying mother, Moliere encounters an important woman from his past. From there, the story goes back in time many years prior: Moliere is rescued from debtor?s prison by the wealthy Monsieur Jourdain (Fabrice Luchini), who disguises the then-budding playwright as "Tartuffe," a tutor for his daughter. Jourdain provides his guest with room and board, for which Jourdain expects Moliere to teach him to perform the aristocrat?s own one-act play, written to impress a comely young widow (Ludivine Sagnier) the married Jourdaine hopes to seduce. While Jourdain, a self-improvement dilettante, fritters away his time, Moliere falls for the man?s neglected wife, Elmire (Laura Morante), a situation that clearly contains the seeds of Moliere?s future hit Tartuffe. Co-written and directed by Laurent Tirard, Moliere is one of those films about an artist that encourages a viewer familiar with its subject to connect the dots between story details and the artist?s real-world legacy. It?s a lot of fun, not to be taken too seriously, though the film?s real theme is that a writer?s voice is only authentic when it utilizes the writer?s natural gifts, and that comedy is really just another perspective on tragedy. --Tom Keogh
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