Don Juan

Few stories about libertines have fared as well as the perennial favorite Don Juan: Mozart was inspired to write 'Don Giovanni', George Bernard Shaw penned 'Don Juan in Hell", Baudelaire wrote a play also called 'Don Juan in Hell', Jeremy Leven adapted the tale for his film 'Don Juan di Marco' for Marlon Brando and Johnny Depp - the list is nearly endless. But few adaptations of Moliere's original 1665 play have been as successful in revealing the inner man of the infamous Lothario as Jacques Weber's DON JUAN. And the result is a revelation.

Jacques Weber not only carefully adapted the Moliere play; he also directs and stars (as Don Juan) in this cinema verita version. No dawdling with the feminine conquests here, this Don Juan is a may on the run, trying to avoid retribution for the scandals he causes. Weber is older, white haired, rotund, and in general does not have the physical appearance one would expect from the man who could conquer the hearts of thousands of women. This crystallizes the amoral life and mind of a man who cares for nothing except self-gratification at the expense of others. He does not believe in God, In the heaven/hell concept, he really doesn't think beyond lust and domination.

Accompanying Don Juan on his travels is his loyal servant Sganarelle (Michel Boujenah), the character who Mozart named Leparello, who does not condone his master's behavior and is constantly warning him of the inevitable outcome of his lifestyle. As the film opens Don Juan and Sganarelle, accompanied by an entourage of gentlemen, are on the run from the wrath of the brother of his last conquest Elvire (Emmanuelle Béart). In his attempt to escape by sea his ship is sunk, only to be saved by a peasant Pierrot (Denis Lavant) who takes the ailing Juan and the remainder of his entourage to safety. In the camp Don Juan recovers only to find is lustful eye resting on two women - Mathurine (Penélope Cruz) and Pierot's betrothed Charlotte (Ariadna Gil) - and creates enough havoc that he must flee the camp promising he will return and marry them.

Elvire's brothers eventually discover him on the run, a duel ensues, and the Don begins to see and hear ruminations of his downfall in the form of a statue of a Commander he had killed. The ending is know to all but the manner in which Weber pauses for Don Juan's introspection before his fate makes the old scoundrel more understandable.

The cast is excellent but not as fine as the costumes and scenery that are so well created they steel the film. The musical score rings true to the flavors of the 17th Century and enhances the mood of the story. Weber as Don Juan is an acquired taste, but whether he fits your vision of a man who can have every woman he desires or whether the viewer can re-think the Lothario at the end of his time on earth, he is still a very interesting character and explains why we resurrect his story time and again. Not a film for everyone, but certainly a solid piece of theater. In French with English subtitles. Grady Harp

This was a terribly uninteresting film. In fact, I had to struggle with myself not to just turn it off. The story wasn't particularly compelling, the acting was only so-so and the choice of casting was strange, to say the least. At first, I was shocked to see that the part of Don Juan was played by a fat old guy with a bad hairdo. Later, I realized that was probably the type of dissipated character they wanted for the film. However, this confused me still for two reasons. First, women in the film still found him attractive (yuck) AND Don Juan's father, played by Michael Lonsdale, looked almost the same age as Don Juan. It just didn't make sense.

In addition, the movie sported some excellent actresses that had little, if any, chance to show off their talents. Emmanuelle Béart is a tremendous actress, but here she is just seen in bits and pieces. Penelope Cruz also appears in the film--very briefly. With both women you assume they will be integral parts of the film, but they are wasted. Instead, Don Juan mostly whines to his manservant and talks to a giant busts of a man he killed. Wow--some excitement.

Aged lothario rides around Spain ogling young girls and drinking: Jacques Weber channels an aged Marlon Brando (at least in looks). His long wild hair, irreverent perspective on life, and degenerate old-aged girth (what a paunch!) give him (as Don Juan) the quintessential dirty old man look.

This is not the classic Don Juan, but portrays what Don Juan would be in his mid 50's -- an aging, fat, would-be lothario.

The movie is clearly the self-indulgent fantasy of Jacques Weber, who rides around on an absolutely splendid horse that is trained with all the classic horse-skills of Spanish riding. (I enjoyed watching the horse as much as anything in the movie!) He encapsulates the essence of an aged playboy wandering around the Spanish countryside trying to have flings with 20-year old girls. His nobleman father (who looks younger than Don Juan does and in fact has a far more grandiose lifestyle!) heartily disapproves. The movie is a biting satire of several very sad and real segments of society.

Don Juan himself degenerates into drink, eating too much, and an occasional swordfight. Over time he admits learns that the "worthy" honesty of being a playboy is less valued in society than stark hypocrisy. Although he gives in briefly to such hypocrisy (mostly to avoid a creditor), he never submits for very long.

He lives "well" (although mostly as a wandering vagrant) until his sudden dying day. Meanwhile his devoted and ostensibly devout servant (who lives vicariously through his master's excesses), becomes a beggar immediately upon Don Juan's death. Apparently, the moral is that the wages of pure devotion is beggardom, once your master dies.

There is liberal jabs at religious zeal, with the servant being the mouthpiece for an endless stream of confused religious aphorisms and trite sayings, which Don Juan ridicules.

This is anything but a Puritan moral story. It is an extremely real and penetrating glimpse into the soul of middle and old aged dirty old men, and as such is exactly right. It is a French film, and therefore portrays the human condition far more realistically than any American film could.

Did I see my own father (himself a middle/old-aged lothario) and many older men I know in Jacques Weber's Don Juan? You bet. In fact, my father saw himself accurately portrayed in the film, and he himself enjoyed it immensely for that reason.

This is a unique film in that regard, and is likely to be enjoyed more by those who have lived life well and love the intricacies of the human condition.

In France ,every Moliere lover remembers the sixties MTV version featuring Michel Piccoli's memorable performance .The "modern" ending which broke with Molière's "hullabaloo" did not satisfy everybody though.Jacques Weber's ending is even more disturbing: Don Juan's screams turn into a whisper ;ditto for Sganarelle's last monologue ("Mes Gages!Mes Gages" ) : Michel Boujenah is begging near a church and he too murmurs .

Don Juan 1998 has a very low rating which is,IMHO,totally irrelevant.Unlike most of Molière's best plays,this one was perfectly suited to a cinematographic treatment since the action takes place by the sea,in a forest ...Weber's screenplay follows the play with some differences: Don Juan and Sganarelle are accompanied by a servant (?)whose role is completely pointless;the scene when Don Juan asks a poor man to swear if he wants a coin is not included. Don Juan and Sganarelle travel across a desolate Spain, in a world in ruin but which has forgotten it's in ruin.Don Juan's privileged vice,hypocrisy,makes him a rebel in a society where the higher clergy and the nobles rule ,thus not a totally negative character.An atheist whose biggest belief is that two and two is four.

The statue of the Commendatore (reduced to a large head ,plus a big hand in the final scene) on a boat at night displays Fellini's influence,particularly (what a coincidence!) "Fellini-Casanova"

An user wrote that Emmanuelle Béart was wasted: the part of Elvira consists of two or three scenes anyway.Béart is beautiful but I found her diction unsatisfying :she speaks too quickly,swallowing her words.

This remaking of so many told story of Don Juan is the worst Don Juan movie ever made. Weber, who also plays the main character of the story, all through the movie demonstrates himself so great, so lovely, and so ...! But there is nothing about love or anything else in it. Great spoil of such a beauty as Emmanuelle Beart!