Moliere - the film

Monday night, went to see a French film called Molière. The film revolves round the life of Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin). After he goes to prison for being unable to pay his debts, he is rescued by a rich man who hopes to learn how to act to gain favour with a young female aristocrat.

The film is not based on true life events per se and tries to explore a sequence of events that may have happened to shape Molière’s life, to give him the inspiration for his plays. In this sense it is very much a French version of Shakespeare in Love. The film is quite comical, as it uses puns and satire to establish a good humour spun around a love story that can only have an unhappy ending.

Whilst, the subtitling was in Americanised English (and therefore a little grating for a true Brit such as myself) it did not detract from being able to follow the film. Even on the big cinema screen it was quite easy to watch the film and read the subtitles. I must say I enjoyed the film, even if it did not quite make me laugh out loud. The film’s ending was very cinematic and brought a genuine tear to the eye. The settings, costumes and cast were beautiful and very colourful. I am not sure if it was accurate for the historical period (mid 17th century) in which it’s set.

I would give it about 7 out of 10, a little less if romantic comedies aren’t your thing, a little more if you love French films and go with a partner.