| Overall Grade: |
A |
|
| Story: |
A |
|
|
| Acting: |
A |
|
|
| Direction: |
A |
|
|
| Visuals: |
A |
|
|
A must see for anyone who enjoyed Moliere's plays!
by (movies profile)
Feb 16, 2008
1
of
1 people found this review helpful
I have to say that I am appalled by some of the reviews that I read about this movie. Those who gave it an F have no clue who Moliere was and what the movie was about. Moliere is the Shakespeare of France, but instead of relying on tragedies, he conveyed his message through parodies and sophisticated humor. The movie tries to convey to us how Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, a.k.a. Moliere, got his inspiration for his masterpieces, "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme", "Les femmes savantes", "L'avare" and of course "Tartuffe". It serves also to remind us that Moliere was not just a skilled writer and poet (he wrote in prose), but a very sophisticated comedian and skilled actor who wrote, acted and directed his own plays and had his own acting "troupe". Many of the famous lines uttered in his plays appear in the movie, giving us a background on his inpiration and his keen obesrvation of the culture of his times, in 17 century France. He was able to make fun of the French aristocracy in its face and get it to laugh at itself. And sure enough, his statement of "being spoken to not in French, but rather in the language of Moliere" is a reality today and is commonly said in France. Romain Duris did an excellent job portraying the passionate and sarcastic Moliere. He brought an unmistakable humanity to the character and made him so real and so raw. He was unrecognizable to me with his costume and his wig. I could not believe this was the same actor who had the lead role in "L'Auberge Espagnole". He has really blossomed. For those who have read Moliere, you will truly enjoy it, especially the fact that Moliere's inspiration for the deceitful and cunning Tartuffe came from his own little charade at the Jourdains. Those who don't know anything about Moliere may still enjoy it, but would miss so much of humor and nuances in the story unfortunately. |
My Public Profile 
