tMF | The Movie-Fanatic

Romain Duris stars as Molière: Paris, 1644. 22-year-old Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, also known as Molière, is not yet the writer that history will recognize as the father and true master of comic satire, as the author of the Misanthrope and Tartuffe, and as a dramatist who will rank alongside Shakespeare and Sophocles. Far from it. He is, in fact, a failed actor.

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His theatre company, L'Illustre Théâtre, founded the previous year, is bankrupt. Hounded by creditors, Molière is thrown into jail, released, and 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 began touring the provinces - a tour that lasted thirteen years, and culminated in Molière's triumphant return to Paris in 1658.

But what happened to Molière during these mysterious lost months? The events are explored in the film in witty, delicious and wicked ways. 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.

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