MoliÈre

Synopsis: A disarmingly shameless French hommage to Shakespeare in Love, Laurent Tirard’s elegant and witty seventeenth-century comedy constructs a similar romantic contrivance around alleged events from the life of the playwright Molière (the pseudonym of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin), taking advantage of a period in 1644 that has never been reliably documented. In this heavily fictionalised version, the debt-ridden young actor-writer is hired by the wealthy Monsieur Jourdain to coach the latter in the art of performance in order to win the heart of a widowed countess. His pupil’s painfully obvious lack of talent makes this a thankless task, rendered somewhat more diverting by the alluring presence of Madame Jourdain. The resulting farcical liaisons lead to Molière’s realisation that his initial pretensions towards tragedy are massively outweighed by a supremely natural gift for comedy. Unsurprisingly, the film has countless allusions to his still unwritten plays, though they function more as bonbons for the well-read than vital keys to comprehension.

DVD Extras: Behind The Scenes; Making-of (Dans les Coulissess de Moliere)
Language: French (Standard)
Country: France
Year of release: 2007
Year of production: 2007
Subjects: French studies
Keywords: biographies; dramatised documentary films; Molière, Jean Baptiste

Director

Cast

Name: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
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Notes: Feature films from Fox and MGM for sale on DVD and Blu-ray via retail outlets.

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