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Synopsis
1644,
Paris.
22-year-old Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, also known as Moliere,
is not yet the writer that history recognizes as the father
& true master of comic satire, author of "the Misanthrope
and Tartuffe," and a dramatist to rank alongside Shakespeare
& Sophocles. Far from it. He is in fact, a failed actor.
His Illustrious Theatre Troupe, founded the previous year,
is bankrupt. Hounded by creditors, Moliere is thrown into
jail, released, then swiftly imprisoned again. When the
jailors finally let him go, he disappears. The combined
efforts of historians have unearthed no trace of him before
his reappearance, several months later, when his troupe
begins touring the provinces - a tour that will last for
thirteen years, and culminate in Moliere's triumphant return
to Paris in 1658. But what happened to Moliere during these
mysterious lost months?
Moliere, we discover, has been released
from prison by a wealthy bourgeois, Monsieur Jourdain, who
settled the young actor's debts on the understanding that he
will teach him the craft of the stage. Hungry for
recognition, Jourdain is infatuated with the lovely but
poisonous Celimene, whose salon gathers together suitors &
great wits.
But the affair must remain secret, kept at all costs from
Jourdain's wife, Elmire, a wonderful woman with whom Moliere
himself will fall headlong in love. Unfortunately for him,
Jourdain has presented Moliere as Monsieur Tartuffe, an
austere private tutor, to justify his presence. Elmire has
nothing but the harshest words for this holier-than-thou
figure who has invaded her home. Trapped in this untenable
situation, Moliere will experience all manner of events that
will open his eyes and his mind, both to life itself and to
his work as an artist. It is from the heart of this tale,
and from his passion for Elmire, that Moliere the great
dramatist is born.
Boasting an extraordinary cast (Romain Duris The Beat My
Heart Skipped; Ludivine Sagnier Swimming Pool, 8 Women;
Laura Morante The Son's Room; Edouard Baer L'Appartement)
sumptuous production values and a witty and sophisticated
script in the tradition of Shakespeare In Love, director
Laurent Tirard's romantic period drama reveals the
tantalizing mystery behind the birth of France's greatest
dramatist.
- Sony Pictures Classics
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