Marquise

The first virtue is the performance , beautiful at whole, of Bernard Girodeau as Moliere. He gives the playwriter so well known by his admirers. The second, off course, Sophie Marceau . And, sure, the tension , familiar in its traits for the fans of French historical drama. A film about theater, love and rivalry, giving slices from Moliere and Racine, proposing the embroidery of rising and fall of an actress . So, just beautiful.

......A Quelques Traits Un Peu Vieux

Souvenez-Vous Qu'à Mon Age

Vous ne Vaudrez Guère Mieux

(Marquise,If My Face is an old man's one/Remember when you get old,you won't look any better)

A poem written by an aging Corneille for Marquise -which is a first name ,not a title- which would never come true cause MARQUISE died young.

Generally I 'm not a fan of Sophie Marceau but she's acceptable here,particularly when she dances .She gets strong support from Bernard Giraudeau as Molière,Lambert Wilson as Racine,Anemone as "la Voisin" (the poison expert) and even Thierry Lhermitte as the king.

Vera Belmont successfully recreates the GRand Siècle when the Sun king used to reign: from the muddy filthy streets to the luxury of Versailles and Vaux-le-Vicomte where the nobles hide their grime behind an outrageous make up.

Some lines are very funny but you have got to have some knowledge of classic French literature so you can appreciate such witty words as "let's say "Tartuffe" takes place in England or among that infamous Protestant reformed religion!"Belmont also draws an interesting parallel between Racine's "Andromaque" and the young widow Marquise .

Best scene: Duparc's burial at night,for at the time thespians were excommunicated .Giraudeau's lines goes straight to the heart.There is a similar scene in Abel Gance's "Le Capitaine Fracasse" .That director was certainly a major influence on Belmont:like him,her characters often use lines of poetry.

Sophie Marceau, in her two previous outings in period costume--Chouans! and La fille de d'Artagnan--showed us how well she could play historical subjects. Marquise died young, only 35, but had enough time to vault to the top of the theatrical profession. She was the lover of both Moliere and Racine, to whom she bore a son. The film moves along at a brisk pace with so much material to cover, and Bernard Giraudeau as Moliere, and Lambert Wilson as Racine give Marceau solid support. Patrick Timsit as Gros-Rene has the most inventive death scene I can remember, it's fabulous.

It is so nice to see a person encouraged to follow her dream - despite opposition from others, and despite having to overcome her own fears at times. The ending is sad but it fits with the film's whole tragic theme, and works well as the play-within-a-play. Excellent performances by Marceau and Giraudeau (as Moliere). Excellent insight into the lives of travelling players, and Louis XIV's era.

"Marquise" is refreshing since it's one of the rare history movie that isn't done from a celebrity point of view like Molière, Racine, Corneille, La Reine Margot, François 1er, Columbus, etc. The marquise isn't a well-known character of the History but she does lives among the nobles. This makes her experience of the rich world more interesting since she always has to fight to stay in it and maintain her popularity. Truly, a must for history and culture fans.