As Aventuras de Molière

Molière 'Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme' and 'Tartuffe' and his own life M Jourdaine a complete fool

You do not have to be familiar with the works of Molière to enjoy this film, though it's much, much more likely you will if you have seen or read his plays. This is because the plot and style of this film is very strongly inspired by his plays--particularly "Le Bourgeoise Gentilhomme" and "Tartuffe". So, for the unfamiliar, I'd rate the film a 6 and for the lovers of Molière, I'd score this film an 8.

The film is a tad difficult to follow as it does not follow a liner timeline. In fact it bounces around a bit. This is hard to follow because Romain Duris (as Molière) looks pretty much the same through the 13 year course of the film. When the film begins, it is at the present time. Then, Molière has a flashback where he remembers what life was like BEFORE he became famous--13 years earlier. At that time, he was briefly in prison for bad debts (something the author actually did have happen to him) but was rescued by a rich member of the Bourgeoise, Mr. Jourdaine. However, Jourdaine did not do this for strictly noble reasons--he wanted Molière to help him in his efforts to win the heart of a young woman. However, Jourdaine is already married (to a lovely lady he sadly neglects) and there isn't a prayer the young woman will return his advances. What's to become of all this? See the film.

The story plays much like a production by Molière--combined with a few facts from the playwright's life. In the end, everything is wrapped up perfectly and the film is lovely--with great sets and a terrific script. But it's also the sort of costume drama that might bore many--as most folks (especially non-French viewers) today probably have little, if any, interest in this sort of thing. It's a shame, as it is quite lovely and engaging--particularly as the movie progresses.

There's a period of a few months in 1644 when the French playwright Molière, then only 22, fell through the cracks of history, and Laurant Tirard's film 'Moliere' (co-written with Grégoire Vigneron) makes up a story to fill the gap. Young Moliere's little company is crippled by debts and he is trying insistently to put on tragedies with no success. One day when he's in debtor's prison, he disappears. According to the film, he has an adventure that leads him wisely to reorient his work in the direction of comedy after being urged to do so by a lovely woman with whom he has a brief affair after being hired as a sort of ghost writer for her husband. This patron has paid off Moliere's debts and brings him to his estate disguised as a tutor for a daughter. He is a pretentious and very wealthy businessman who wants the young writer to pen clever material for him to pass off as his own and thereby impress a witty young woman who's the star of a salon.

The wealthy businessman is the supple Fabrice Lucchini , his lovely wife is the beautiful Laura Morante, Moliere is a be-wigged Romain Duris, and the witty salon chick is Ludivine Sagnier. The patron's name is none other than Monsieur Jourdan--the same as Moliere's most famous creation, "The Bourgeois Gentleman." Jourdan also contains elements of Orgon and Arnolphe, two of Moliere's other memorable creations. Lucchini is at the center of the film and his character is more complex than Duris' playwright, who's more buffoonish most of the time than the bourgeois fool. Anyway, though there are suitors for Jourdan's daughter and Moliere is having an affair with Mme Jourdain, as an illustration of the author's famous characters and themes this is superficial--at best, "Moliere for Dummies" (a phrase used in one of the French reviews). The underlying assumption--though I'm not sure how seriously one should take it--is that Moliere based his characters on actual people, and had to be told by a lover what genre to work in--comedy. At the end we see Moliere and his company, thirteen years later, performing a bit of 'Tartuffe,' and the lines are directly copied from the playwright's earlier adventure chez Jourdan. If this is meant to be moving, it only seems literal and obvious.

Duris' character is occasionally witty, but too much of the movie is physical slapstick that, however well executed--Duris is adept and game--thinks it's funnier than it is. An extended scene where Moliere and M. Jourdan set to imitating horses is arresting, but more peculiar than droll. Edouard Baer, as an impoverished nobleman who exploits Jourdan, seems a bit wasted here considering that he was so amusing along with the brilliant Clovis Cornillac (and others) in Tirard's funny if ridiculous 2004 comedy ''Mensonges et trahisons. . . This is farce that stumbles too often. It knocks the dust off some pages of (nonexistent) history, but somehow it never quite clicks--or finds a style. Tirard penned the conventional sitcom-ish comedy last year with Charlotte Gainsbourg, 'Prete-moi ta main' ('How to Get Married and Stay Single''). It's been a long time since Moliere. Romain Duris continues to show versatility, but this performance steals none of the luster of his much more memorable one in Audiard's 2005 'The Beat My Heart Skipped.'

Julian Jarrold's 'Becoming Jane,' playing simultaneously in this country, treats Jane Austen with the same fundamentally naïve assumption that authors invent nothing and simply copy out people they've encountered in life. But 'Jane' differs significantly. Though Miss Austen may never have gotten into the sort of amorous mess that's central to the film, such things did happen very definitely to some of her characters, and there are some genuine emotions in 'Jane.' 'Moliere' is being overrated in this country, while 'Becoming Jane,' which has been generally dismissed, is not getting a fair shake.

Molière (2007), co-written and directed by Laurent Tirard, creatively fills a historical gap that exists in the biography of the playwright/actor Molière. Apparently, Molière was released from debtors prison, and did not rejoin his acting company for several months. The movie provides us with a fictional reconstruction of what went on during that time span.

Like many period films, this movie has high production values. The sets and costumes are glorious, and we are spared the usual obligatory images of filth and squalor. Instead, most of the film takes place in the château of the very wealthy M. Jourdain (Fabrice Luchini), and his dutiful--if somewhat bored--wife (Laura Morante). Ludivine Sagnier plays a wealthy young widow, the Marquise Célimène.

The plot revolves around M. Jourdain's worshipful love for the Marquise. The Marquise barely knows he exists and so M. Jourdain proposes to hire Molière to teach him how to make a good impression on the object of his desires. The Marquise is self-centered, vain, and proud, and M. Jourdain is a fool. However, he is a rich fool, and can afford to go where his whims take him. Molière accepts the job, and the film moves forward from there.

Romain Duris is very good as Molière. He reminds me of Johnny Depp, and, like Depp, he overplays his role in a humorous and enjoyable way . Fabrice Luchini is excellent as M. Jourdain--a man who has a wonderful wife but lusts after an unattainable and unlikeable woman. Laura Morante is outstanding as the wife, who lives with luxury but not with love. Ms. Morante is Italian, so it's not clear to me whether her voice was dubbed. In any case, she plays her role with skill and subtlety, and she has a presence that lights up the screen.

This film will remind you of "Shakespeare in Love" and "Becoming Jane." It tries to correlate the artist's experiences--about which we can only speculate--with his or her art, about which we know a great deal. It is obviously unlikely that we will ever learn what led Austen or Shakespeare or Molière to write their masterpieces. Because this vacuum exists, writers and directors are free to speculate about events, and present these speculations to us in the form of movies.

I enjoyed both "Shakespeare in Love" and "Becoming Jane," and I would put "Molière" into this same category--not a great film, but a very good film, and definitely worth seeing.

Charming story of a time. Another Moliere, in a beautiful game of desires, ambition, errors and sentimental confusion. A play by Moliere with the author as character. Comedy and description of society, drama and piece of biographic way, mirror and childish trip,it is a "cake" with many spices. Romain Duris is seductive and brilliant, part of french science to make national history pages in small and delicate jewels. The love is cover of a nice exercise to define a culture. A bait in different nuances.A travel in the spirit of transformation age. A mask of a great play writer. Picture of a metamorphosis. A slice of cake with pieces of forest fruits.

If you have already seen this movie you may come to know that it was the similar story theme to 'Shakespeare in Love'. That is not what I was going to say, this movie really did some magic spell on me because absolutely loved the movie all the way from top to bottom. The settings and the costumes, wow, very impressive, looked so natural. You know, most of the commercial flick that sets in the period like this, the filmmakers use nice and clean costumes. Cinematographically that looks awesome but won't feel like that is true.

The movie filled with plenty of humorous scenes. The story sets in the mid 17th century France, where a popular countryside writer and actor, Molière, goes to Paris to conduct one of his play. There he comes across with some person he knew before, which takes us to the 13 years earlier flashback story. Then he was a young talented comedian who was looking for a first breakthrough in his career. Due to interference in royal affair he was jailed but a wealthy man named Jourdain saves him. Now he owes him so he helps untalented Jourdain to seduce a widow woman. Initially he tries to escape from there but something changes in him and give reason to stay. While seducing another woman, Jourdain brings a great mess into the family without his knowledge. As the adults how they gonna solve the problem is the movie's twist and turn.

I can say the flawless, perfect performance by Fabrice Luchini was the movie's highlight. I have seen some movies of Romain Duris, it was his one of the best performances in those I have seen. Both Fabrice Luchini and Romain Duris from the driver's seat drove the movie to the success. You will enjoy it as a fine period comedy. The first three quarters were decent fun and the last quarter of the movie is what turns into a serious and emotional side of the tale. And that is where most of the audience will fall for it.

9/10