Film Review
Léonce Perret barely had half a dozen short films to his name as
a director before Gaumont landed him with one of his most ambitious
productions, a biographical account of the life of France's most
important playwright, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known as
Molière. It was the rival company Film d'Art, which was
committed to quality productions such as its
L'Assassinat du duc de Guise
(1908), that led Gaumont to up its game and commit to more lavish
period productions of this kind. With its ornate sets and
extensive use of real locations (something that would become a hallmark
of Perret's cinema),
Molière
is a sumptuous looking piece that is among cinema's first worthwhile
biopics.
One noteworthy aspect of the film is that it was a collaborative effort
between three of the great pioneers of the new medium of cinema working
in France at the time. With Perret, one of Gaumont's most
promising talents, in the director's seat, the scriptwriting duties
fell to Louis Feuillade and Abel Gance, two of the
most important cineastes of the following decades. Gance -
who appears briefly in the film as the young Molière -
would ultimately outshine both Feuillade and Ferret with his epic
melodramas and own great historical biopic,
Napoléon
(1927). Cinematography was by Georges Specht, who worked on many
of Perret's films and brought a striking modernity to his work -
evidenced by the sequences in
Molière
that were filmed in the stately environs of the Château de
Versailles. In common with most silent films of this time,
Molière consists of
tableaux, scenes shot usually in a single take, with a camera fixed in
one position, but the visual compositions are so perfect that rarely
does the film appear static. On the contrary, the film has a
vibrant quality and realism that sets it apart from most cinematic
offerings of this period.
© James Travers 2015
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Léonce Perret film:
L'Automne du coeur (1911)
Film Synopsis
Paris, 1642. In his father's upholstery shop, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin is
reading his first comic verses to his brothers and sisters. An
impromptu visit by the actor Scaramouche makes up Jean-Baptiste's mind
to pursue an acting career. Some months later, Jean-Baptiste,
under his adopted name Molière, has founded a travelling theatre
company which tours the provinces. It is not long before he is
performing at the royal court of Versailles, for the pleasure of King
Louis XIV. With the king's patronage, Molière is destined
to become the leading playwright of his time...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.