Diagonaldi Very well executed

SpecialsTarget Disturbing yet enthralling

Konterr Brilliant and touching

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

don2507 A popular TV actor with presumed artistic aspirations, the character of Gauthier Valence, travels to an island off the west coast of France to solicit a former acting companion, the reclusive, ill-tempered character of Serge Tanneur, to join him in a stage production of Moliere's The Misanthrope. Tanneur is retired, and says he hates acting and actors, but eventually agrees to at least rehearse with Valence for four days. Based on a daily coin flip, they will alternate the roles of Alceste (the "Misanthrope" who detests the hypocrisies of social life and rebukes men's dishonesty toward each other) and Philinte (who argues for a necessary role in social life of courtesies and half-truths). One might simplify things by labeling Alceste as the idealist and Philinte as the realist. At the end of the brief rehearsals Tanneur will decide whether he will participate in the production, and if he does the two actors have agreed (are they companions? rivals?) to rotate the parts on a daily basis.To me, the fascinating part of this film was how the two characters submerged / transformed their interaction and emerging rivalry into the two characters of Moliere's play and the echoed interaction of the play's characters onto their own relationship. As they rehearsed, it seemed like Moliere's lines were reflecting aspects of their own interrelationship, which to me was clever screen writing. We also see during these stimulating two-person readings, a subtle evolution of their acting relationship from one of apparent agreement and collaboration to one of ego tests and indirect humiliations. Does the play come off? I believe you can enjoy this film without being familiar with The Misanthrope. I hadn't seen it performed in 30 years, and yet I could appreciate the juxtaposition of Moliere's play and the interaction of these two actors.

kosmasp A nice story about two friends, acting and relationships. It's a mature theme, with some clichés thrown in of course (like these young kids, no respect for art and stuff like that). But it's about a story that may relate more to some than others. The friendship displayed is always on thin ice, especially when it comes to the theme of love, where people are easily divided.But it's also about guilt, about humans and behavior as it is about vanity and wanting to have things (greed) that others might get. It's about a lot of things and it juggles them well. It's tough to feel for one more than the other. But it's nicely told, if you are into that thing.

richard-1787 This is a first-rate movie. I've seen it four or five times by now - I am using it in a class - and each time I watch it, I marvel anew at the talent of the two lead actors, two stars of today's French cinema, Lambert Wilson and Fabrice Lucchini, and the quality of the script.One could summarize it by saying that it is the story of two actors who rehearse for a touring production of Molière's masterpiece, The Misanthrope. One, Serge, played by Lucchini, has become bitter in his lonely retirement. The other, Gauthier, is a financial and romantic success, but wants to accomplish something worthy of his artistic merits as well. In the course of rehearsing the play, both find that the words Molière gave to his misanthropic protagonist, Alceste, allow them to express their own growing hatred of the world around them.If you don't know the play, I don't know how much of an effect this movie will make. Since the play is one of the classics of French theater, the director and producer could assume that many in their French audience would remember the play from their school days, the way at least some Americans are able to remember something about Hamlet from high school, and so understand what the two male leads are doing. If, because you don't know Molière's play, you can't do that, I don't know what you will get out of this very fine film.

writers_reign Even if you've never read a word of Moliere or seen even one minute of one of his plays you should still derive a lot of enjoyment out of this gem. Lambert Wilson and Fabrice Luchini have both appeared in French films that played outside France yet remain little known abroad whereas in France they are household names and deservedly so. The premise of the film is that a once successful actor (Luchini) has retired from the theatre, retreated to the country and has himself, ironically, become more a less a misanthrope. A second actor (Wilson) enjoying nationwide fame on the strength of his playing the eponymous role in a television drama, is anxious to return to his theatrical roots via a revival of Moliere's classic play The Misanthrope. Earmarking the lead role of Alceste for himself he travels to Rochelle to try to persuade Luchini to return to the stage and co-star with him is Philente. The bulk of the film is the marvellous interplay between two great actors at the top of their game actually rehearsing the play tentatively and alternating the two lead roles. It is nothing short of a feast of superb acting and is one to be savoured.