French film Molière(2007) - Love is a Comedy
モリエールとして知られる22歳のジャン＝バティスト・ポケランは、「人間嫌い」「タルチュフ:あるいはペテン師」の作者であり、シェークスピアやソフォクレスと並ぶ戯曲家として歴史に名を残す作家ではありません。彼は実は、落ちぶれた俳優です。
前年に設立した「イラストリアス劇団」が倒産してしまった。債権者に追い回されたモリエールは、牢屋に入れられ、釈放され、またすぐに牢屋に入れられます。そして、釈放された後、姿を消した。数ヵ月後、彼の一座が地方巡業を始めたときに再び姿を現すまで、歴史家たちの努力によって、彼の痕跡はまったく発見されませんでした。このツアーは13年間続き、1658年にモリエールがパリに凱旋することで幕を閉じます。しかし、この謎めいた数ヶ月の間にモリエールに何が起こったのでしょうか？
モリエールは、裕福なブルジョワ、ムッシュー・ジュルダンに釈放され、舞台芸術を教えるという条件で借金を肩代わりしてもらうことになりました。そのサロンには、求婚者や知恵者が集まってきます。
しかし、この関係はジュルダンの妻エルミールには秘密にしておかなければなりません。エルミールはモリエール自身が恋に落ちることになる素晴らしい女性です。しかし、ジュルダンはモリエールの存在を正当化するために、厳格な家庭教師ムッシュ・タルテュフとしてモリエールを登場させます。エルミールは、自分の家に侵入してきたこの神聖な人物に厳しい言葉しか投げかけられません。このどうしようもない状況に追い込まれたモリエールは、人生と芸術家としての仕事に目を向け、心を開くような出来事を経験することになります。この物語とエルミールへの情熱が、偉大な劇作家モリエールを誕生させたのです。
映画「シェイクスピア・イン・ラブ」の伝統を受け継ぐ、豪華キャスト、素晴らしい演出、ウィットに富んだ洗練された脚本が自慢のLaurent Tirard監督のロマンティック時代劇は、フランス最高の劇作家の誕生にまつわる、心ときめく謎を明らかにします。
(English) 22-year-old Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, also known as Molière, is not yet the writer that history recognizes as the father & valid master of comic satire, author of "The Misanthrope" or "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, Molière is thrown into jail, released, and swiftly imprisoned again. When the jailors finally let him go, he disappears. The combined efforts of historians had unearthed no trace of him before his reappearance several months later when his troupe began touring the provinces. This tour will last thirteen years and culminate in Molière's triumphant return to Paris in 1658. But what happened to Molière during these mysteriously lost months?
Molière, 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 fascinated with the lovely but poisonous Célimene, 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 Molière himself will fall headlong in love. Unfortunately for him, Jourdain has presented Molière as Monsieur Tartuffe, an austere private tutor, to justify his presence. So naturally, Elmire has nothing but the harshest words for this holier-than-thou figure who has invaded her home. Trapped in this untenable situation, Molière will experience events that will open his eyes and mind to life and his work as an artist. It is from the heart of this tale and his passion for Elmire that Molière, the great dramatist, is born.
Boasting an extraordinary cast, fantastic production values and witty and sophisticated script in the tradition of the film ” Shakespeare In Love,” director Laurent Tirard's romantic period drama reveals the tantalizing mystery behind the birth of France's greatest dramatist.
French film Molière (2007) - Love is a Comedy, a romantic comedy about theatre and society in 17th century France.
A)
17th century France. Moliere, a famous playwright known for his comedies, tries to work on works other than comedies. However, the people around him expect comedies from him. As he continues to write about his new job, Moliere remembers a young love that is still unknown.
B)
In 1644, at 22, Moliere founded a theatre company with his friends, but their debts piled up, and he was eventually imprisoned. Mr Jourdan, a wealthy merchant, saved him. Although he had a wife and children, he fell in love with the beautiful Marquise Cerrimene. He wanted to perform his play for her. He then asked Moliere to be his acting teacher, as he would pay off his debts instead.
C)
He will be sent back to prison if he refuses, so Moliere reluctantly accepts his proposal. To prevent Mr Jourdan's wife and children from discovering, he introduces himself as the priest "Tartuffe" and infiltrates the Jourdan family to teach Mr Jourdan's youngest daughter. However, Mr Jourdan's wife, Elmire, praises Moliere's work without knowing that it is Moliere's work.
Along the way, Molière and Elmire fall in love, and their passion is tested by a series of misunderstandings and deceptions involving other characters.
D)
On the other hand, Mr Jourdan asked Count Dorant, who was close to the King, to mediate with Cerrimene. However, Count Dorant was, in fact, Cerrimene's lover. Moreover, as he was on the verge of bankruptcy, he wanted to trick Mr Jourdan into borrowing a large sum.
E)
Mr Jourdan also wanted to join the ranks of the nobility. So when he learns that his daughter Henriette is in love with the bourgeois boy Valaire, he tries to marry Count Dorant's son Thomas.
These suits Count Dorant, who wants his son to marry a rich man. But Elmire wanted Henriette to be happy and to stop it somehow. So she promises to prepare the money precisely as Count Dorant offers.
F)
So Moliere planned a fake kidnapping of Henriette. Elmir desperately played "a mother whose daughter has been kidnapped." And she tried to persuade Mr Jourdan to give him money. But Henriette, supposed to have been kidnapped, returned to her house after arguing with Valaire over a trivial matter. As a result, the plan fails.
G)
As Henriette and Thomas prepare to marry, Mr Jourdan wants to know what Cerrimene thinks of him. Moliere had a plan. He had Mr Jourdan disguise himself as a woman and sneak into Cerrimene's drawing room, pretending to be another marquis and trying to discover Cerrimene's true intentions.
H)
Cerrimene despised Mr Jourdan, saying, "He's just a merchant". Mr Jourdan is shocked but leaves her with a vehement contempt for her.
This also revealed that Count Dorant had deceived Mr Jourdan. And Mr Jourdan tried to stop her daughter's marriage. However, Count Dorant shows he is a great man, close to the King, and threatens Mr Jourdan to force him to proceed with the wedding.
I)
When a disappointed Mr Jourdan returns home, he finds that his wife, Elmire, has taken a man. Moliere confessed to Mr Jourdan that he was her lover. And since her daughter's happiness is the greatest happiness for Elmire, Moliere begs Jourdan to find a way to annul Henriette's marriage. Mr Jourdain grants his wish if Moliere disappears from our sight. And he makes another plan.
J)
The wedding takes place that night. Mr Jourdan's men shouted: "All the warehouses are burnt and bankrupt". In a panic, Dorant called off the wedding and left with his son Thomas.
But it was all a lie orchestrated by Mr Jourdan. First, Henriette and Elmire are happy that her marriage to Thomas is over. Mr Jourdan then invites Valaire as the next candidate for the bridegroom and conducts the wedding of Henriette and Valaire. And Moliere leaves the chateau from Jourdan's family, as promised.
K)
Thirteen years later, Moliere became a successful comedy writer. He wrote a new comedy based on Elmire and Mr Jourdan, which was a success.
One day, Moliere learns that Elmire is ill and has a short life expectancy. Moliere visited him in tears, and Elmire told him he wanted him to continue writing comedies. In this way, Moliere presents his tragic love for her as a "comedy".
Molière - wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moli%C3%A8re_(2007_film)
French film Molière - Love is a Comedy, a romantic comedy about theatre and society in 17th century France.
https://dfr.tokyo/2020/09/09/french-cinema-moliere/
Molière | Official Trailer (2007)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3uZNnub0Xo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeHQ1_Gm9bo
Molière - IMDb
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796335/
Moliere - the letter scene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNfccUGTWgI
Moliere - Mirror Scene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU2zIGdGYeo
Moliere - Coin Scene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSPvEa_SwMY
Moliere - The Language of Love or The Love of Language? - "Fair Marquise, your lovely eyes make me die of love."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGVHSDxZJ24
Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) was born in Paris on 15 January 1622. His father was one of eight valets de chambre patissiers, who looked after the King's furniture and upholstery, so young Poquelin had every advantage a boy could wish for. He was educated at the best schools (the College de Clermont in Paris) and had access to the King's court. But even as a child, Molière found it infinitely more pleasant to make fun of the aristocracy than to associate with them. As a young boy, he learned that he could cause quite a stir by imitating his mother's priest. His mother, a deeply religious woman, might have dissuaded the young satirist from this habit had she not died before he was twelve.
The first of Molière's plays staged at the Petit Bourbon was Les Précieuses Ridicules or The Pretentious Ladies, which satirised Madame de Rambouillet, a member of the King's court who had set herself up as the final arbiter of taste and culture in Paris. The play was so successful that Molière doubled the price of admission and was invited to give an extraordinary performance for the King. The King was delighted and rewarded the playwright with a substantial cash gift, but Molière had made powerful enemies of some of the King's supporters. Madame de Rambouillet and her coterie managed to have performances of the play suspended for fourteen days and, in an attempt to drive Molière out of the city, eventually succeeded in having the Petit Bourbon closed completely. But the King immediately granted Molière the use of the Théâtre du Palais Royal, where he would perform for the rest of his life.
Over the next thirteen years, Molière worked feverishly to make his company the most respected dramatic troupe in Paris. (Eventually, they were given the coveted title of the King's Troupe.) He directed his plays and often played the lead role himself.
On 17 February 1673, Molière suffered a haemorrhage while playing the role of the hypochondriac Argan in The Imaginary Invalid. Despite his wife and friends' advice, he insisted on going on with the performance, saying: "There are fifty poor workers who have only their day's wages to live on. What will become of them if the show does not go on?" He died later that night at his home in the Rue Richelieu. The local priests refused to hear his confession because actors had no social standing and were excommunicated by the Church. Nor would they allow him to be buried on holy ground. Four days later, the King interceded, and Molière was finally buried under cover of darkness in the cemetery of Saint Joseph.
Molière left behind a body of work that changed the face of classical French comedy and influenced the work of other playwrights worldwide. His greatest plays include The School for Husbands (1661), The School for Wives (1662), The Misanthrope (1666), The Doctor Despite Himself (1666), Tartuffe (1664, 1667, 1669), The Miser (1668) and The Imaginary Invalid (1673).