''Molière'' is a 2007

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

directed by

Laurent Tirard Laurent Tirard (18 February 1967 – 5 September 2024) was a French film director and screenwriter. Life and career Laurent Tirard was born on 18 February 1967 in Roubaix, France. He grew up admiring American films, such as those by Steven Spie ...

and starring

Romain Duris Romain Duris (; born 28 May 1974) is a French actor. He is best known for his role in Cédric Klapisch's ''Spanish Apartment'' trilogy, which consists of '' L'Auberge Espagnole'' (2002), '' Russian Dolls'' (2005), and '' Chinese Puzzle'' (2013) ...

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 ...

. It was released in Europe in January 2007 and in the United States in July 2007. It was entered into the

29th Moscow International Film Festival The 29th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 21 to 30 June 2007. The Golden George was awarded to the Russian film '' Travelling with Pets'' directed by Vera Storozheva. Jury * Fred Schepisi (Australia – Chairman of the Jury) * ...

where

Fabrice Luchini Fabrice Luchini (; born Robert Luchini; 1 November 1951) is a French stage and film actor. He has appeared in films such as '' Potiche'', '' The Women on the 6th Floor'', and '' In the House''. Life and career Fabrice Luchini was born in Paris, ...

won the Silver George for Best Actor. The screenplay was co-written by Tirard and Grégoire Vigneron.

Plot

The film begins in 1658, when the French actor and playwright returns to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with his theatrical troupe to perform in the theatre that the king's brother has given him. Most of the film is in the form of a flashback to 1645. Following an unsuccessful run as a tragic actor, Molière is released from

debtor's prison A debtors' prison is a prison for Natural person, people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, L ...

by Monsieur Jourdain, a wealthy commoner with social pretensions, who agrees to pay the young actor's debts if Molière teaches him to act. Jourdain, a married man with two daughters, hopes to use this talent to ingratiate himself with Célimène, a recently widowed aristocrat with whom he has become obsessed. He hopes to perform a short play he has written for the occasion. Molière, however, has been presented to the family and staff of Monsieur Jourdain as Tartuffe, a priest who is to serve as tutor for the Jourdains' younger daughter. As the story progresses Molière proceeds to fall in love with Jourdain's neglected wife, Elmire. Sub-plots involve the love life of the Jourdains' older daughter, and the intrigues of the penniless and cynical aristocrat Dorante at the expense of the gullible Jourdain. The story is mostly fictional and many scenes follow actual scenes and text in Molière's plays including ''

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; , ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy (or more specifically, a farce) by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical theat ...

'', ''

Le Misanthrope ''The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover'' (; ) is a 17th-century comedy of manners in verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris by the King's Players. The play satirizes the ...

'', ''

Le Malade imaginaire ''The Imaginary Invalid'', ''The Hypochondriac'', or ''The Would-Be Invalid'' ( French title ''Le Malade imaginaire'', ) is a three- act ''comédie-ballet'' by the French playwright Molière with dance sequences and musical interludes ( H.495, H ...

'' and '' Le Bourgeois gentilhomme'', whose principal character is also named Jourdain. It is implied that these "actual" events in his life inspired the plays of his maturity.

Cast

as Jean-Baptiste Poquelin *

as M. Jourdain *

Laura Morante Laura Morante (born 21 August 1956) is an Italian film actress. Life and career Morante was born in Santa Fiora, province of Grosseto (Tuscany), the daughter of lawyer and playwright Marcello Morante, who was the son of Irma (née Poggibonsi) ( ...

as Elmire Jourdain * Edouard Baer as Dorante *

Ludivine Sagnier Ludivine Sagnier (born 3 July 1979) is a French actress, known to international audiences for the films ''Swimming Pool'' and ''Peter Pan'' (both 2003), and the Netflix series ''Lupin'' (2021–present). She has also appeared in the English-langua ...

as Célimène * Fanny Valette as Henriette Jourdain * Gonzague Montuel as Valère * Gilian Petrovski as Thomas, son of Dorante * Sophie-Charlotte Husson as

Madeleine Béjart Madeleine Béjart (; 8 January 1618 – 17 February 1672), was a French actress and theatre director, one of the most famous French stage actors of the 17th-century. She was the co-founder of the Illustre Théâtre. Life She belonged to the B� ...

* François Civil as Louis Béjart *

Anne Suarez Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in ...

as Catherine de Brie *

Annelise Hesme Annelise Hesme (born 11 May 1976) is a French actress. Her older sister :fr:Élodie Hesme, Élodie Hesme and younger sister Clotilde Hesme are also actresses. Born in Beaumont, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne (region), Auvergne, France. Hesme has appea ...

as Marquise du Parc *

Nicolas Vaude Nicolas Vaude (born 24 July 1962) is a French actor. Filmography Theater External links * 1962 births Living people French male film actors French male stage actors French male television actors {{France-screen-actor-stub ...

Monsieur ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of respe ...

Critical reception

The film holds a rating of 70% on review aggregator website ''

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

'', based on 86 reviews, with a rating average of 6.4 out of 10. The site's consensus reads, "''Molière'' is a sophisticated, witty biopic of the great satirist."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moliere (2007 film) 2007 films 2000s biographical films 2000s historical comedy films French historical comedy films French biographical films 2000s French-language films Cultural depictions of Molière Biographical films about writers Films about playwrights Films set in 1645 Films set in 1658 Films directed by Laurent Tirard 2007 comedy films 2000s French films Films produced by Olivier Delbosc Films produced by Marc Missonnier Sony Pictures Classics films Films scored by Frédéric Talgorn French-language biographical films French-language historical comedy films