''Molière'' is a 1978 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Ariane Mnouchkine. It was entered into the

1978 Cannes Film Festival The 31st Cannes Film Festival took place from 16 to 30 May 1978. American filmmaker Alan J. Pakula served as jury president for the main competition. Italian filmmaker Ermanno Olmi won the ''Palme d'Or'', the festival's top prize, for the drama ...

Plot

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin is raised by his father and his grandfather because his mother dies when he's still very little. He works as a handyman, studies the law at a university and travels the country as an actor before he becomes the celebrated

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

who impresses firstly the

Duke of Orleans Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

and then even

King Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monar ...

Cast

* Philippe Caubère as

/ The Death * Frédéric Ladonne as Molière, child * Jonathan Sutton as La Grange * Julien Maurel as The friend of Molière * Philippe Cointepas as The comrades Molière *

Maurice Chevit Maurice Chevit (31 October 1923 – 2 July 2012) was a French actor. Maurice Chevit made his theatrical début just after the Second World War, and made his first screen appearance in 1946 in René Clément's film ''Le Père tranquille''. ...

as The priest of the school * Odile Cointepas as The mother * Armand Delcampe as The father * Jean Dasté as The grandfather * Joséphine Derenne as Madeleine Béjart *

Brigitte Catillon Brigitte Catillon (born 20 July 1951) is a French actress and screenwriter. She was nominated for the César Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1993 for '' A Heart in Winter'' directed by Claude Sautet. She was also nominated for the Molièr ...

as Armande Béjart * Mario Gonzáles as

Scaramouche Scaramouche () or Scaramouch (; Italian: Scaramuccia ; ) is a stock clown character of the 16th-century commedia dell'arte (comic theatrical arts of Italian literature). The role combined characteristics of the Zanni (servant) and il Capitan ...

Albert Delpy Albert Delpy (born 13 September 1940) is a French actor and writer, born in Vietnam. He has appeared in more than one hundred films since 1970. Personal life He was married to French actress Marie Pillet until her death in 2009. They are the pare ...

Nicolas Boileau Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

* Guy-Claude François as The bird-man * Michel Hart as Les dévots * Alfred Simon as Les dévots * Marie-Françoise Audollent * Jean Brard

References

External links

* Cultural depictions of Molière 1978 films Italian drama films 1970s French-language films 1970s biographical drama films Films set in the 17th century Films directed by Ariane Mnouchkine French biographical drama films Biographical films about dramatists and playwrights 1978 drama films 1970s French films 1970s Italian films Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography César Award {{1970s-France-film-stub