Moliere

What to did I think of this film - well, shockingly, I knew very little about the history of the man. But despite my admission of knowing decidely little about this French playright, the film was incredibly well told and truly enjoyable viewing. That says something about the writing and directing, as an uninformed viewer could still extract such pleasure from taking in the story and of course, the wonderfully portrayed emotions captured beautifully by the performances of the film's two lead actors. The gentleman who played Moliere - wow - he demonstrated amazing talent particularly when showing his employer how a human can transform oneself convincingly into a horse! That sounds weird, but for those who saw the film, let's be honest - that scene was acting in its truest sense!

My critic hat found the development of the romantic bond between Moliere and the wife of the wealthy french businessmen somewhat contrived. Nor did I like the end scene with Moliere reciting the lines of his written play based on his romantic rendezvous from the past - some things are better left to the imagination, n'est pas? Yet the film's eloquence and simplicity was captured beautifully throughout most scenes in the film. The strong focus on language and character development is a sure sign of a European filmaking. But this film raises the bar on other European films with its superbly written dialogue.

For aspiring writers and filmakers the film is one of few that succeeds in its use of the 'bookend' technique.