''The Triumph of Love'' is a 2001

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film based on the 19th-century French playwright

Pierre de Marivaux Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist. He is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, writing nume ...

's play of the same name. It was directed by

Clare Peploe Clare Peploe (20 October 1941 – 23 June 2021) was a British-Italian screenwriter, producer, and film director. Biography Peploe was born in Tanzania but grew up in the United Kingdom and Italy. William Peploe, her father, worked as a Brit ...

, produced by her husband

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...

, and stars

Mira Sorvino Mira Katherine Sorvino (; born September 28, 1967) is an American actress. She won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Woody Allen's '' Mighty Aphrodite'' (1995). She also starred in the films ...

and

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and tw ...

Plot

In an unidentified country in 18th century

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, a usurper's daughter (

) has inherited the throne and feels guilty about her family's crimes. She learns that the Queen gave birth to a prince and the rightful heir, Agis (Jay Rodan), who was secretly sent to live with the great philosopher Hermocrates. Agis has been taught to hate her and the entire female sex, and to reject all love. After gaining information from one of Hermocrates' servants, she goes to see Agis for herself and finds him bathing in a lake in the forest. She falls in love with him at first sight, but he is kept in seclusion by Hermocrates (

) and his sister Leontine ( Fiona Shaw) to protect him from her. She wishes to gain Agis' love in return and marry him so that they may share the throne, but to get close enough to Agis, she must embark on a series of bribes, deceptions, and seductions.

Characters

;The Princess : The daughter of a usurper who falls in love with Agis, the rightful heir to the throne. Agis has been taught to hate her above all else, so she disguises herself as a young male scholar named Phocion and attempts to deceive both Hermocrates and his sister Leontine, all the while trying to get closer to Agis and make him fall in love with her. ;Hermocrates : A great philosopher who hates the usurper princess and has been teaching Agis to despise her and the entire female sex and scorn the notion of 'love'. Discovering that 'Phocion' is really a woman, the princess (now calling herself 'Aspasie') tells him that she has fallen in love with him, and seduces him so that he will allow her to stay at his house (and therefore give her more time with Agis). ;Leontine : Hermocrates' sister who is attempting several experiments to create electricity. Throughout most of the movie she believes that the princess is a man named Phocion. She is the first person that Phocion/the princess seduces, and is devastated upon discovering that she has been tricked. Occasionally, Leontine imagines that she can see an audience watching her, a reference to the fact that the movie is based on a play. ;Agis : A handsome young man who is the rightful heir to the throne. He has been taught to hate women (the princess especially) and to reject all love. He becomes friends with Phocion, and is delighted to finally have someone to talk too. 'Phocion' soon reveals herself as a woman (but not as the princess) and Agis already treasures their friendship too much to hate her now based on her sex. He becomes more and more confused about his feelings and soon realises that he's falling in love with her. ;Corine : The princess's lady-in-waiting who assists the princess any way she can. She also disguises herself as a man named Hermidas, and infiltrates Hermocrates' home along with the princess. Corine is invaluable to the princess, as both a loyal friend and as an accomplice. It is implied that Corine and Harlequin are slightly attracted to each other. ;Harlequin : One of Hermocrates' servants who catches the princess and Corine climbing over the wall and overhears them talking about their plan. The princess bribes him into aiding them and keeping their identities secret. It is implied that he likes Corine, for when 'Phocion's good looks are complimented, he adds that 'they are both attractive', and is later seen playfully giving Corine a foot rub. ;Dimas : Hermocrates' gardener. Harlequin reveals the women's identities to him so that they will both be paid (to which Corine reacts angrily). Hermocrates had asked Dimas to spy on Phocion/Aspasie to discover her true intentions. Now also bribed by the princess, Dimas gives Hermocrates false information, leading Hermocrates to believe that Aspasie really does love him.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Triumph Of Love 2001 films Films set in the 18th century 2001 romantic comedy films Paramount Vantage films Italian films based on plays Italian romantic comedy films British films based on plays British romantic comedy films German films based on plays German romantic comedy films English-language German films English-language Italian films 2000s British films 2000s German films 2000s English-language films English-language romantic comedy films

Plot

Characters

See also

External links