Director: Laurent Tirard, 12A, 120min
Stars: Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini, Ludivine Sagnier
On selected release
France’s answer to Shakespeare in Love is a broad farce that imagines the creative evolution of the eponymous 17th-century comedy writer, played with gusto by Duris. Unfolding as a comedy of manners, the zany plot pitches the penniless playwright into the mansion of the wealthy yet gauche trader Jourdain (Luchini) with one mission – to teach him acting skills fine enough to seduce a local beauty (Sagnier). Naturally, all sorts of wacky complications ensue, as Molière falls for Jourdain’s wife and Jourdain’s daughter falls for a local commoner.
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If you like watching people getting caught kissing, getting chased by dogs, hiding under beds and generally being, well, rompy, then Molière is the film for you.