Beaumarchais l'insolent (1996)

Director:

Edouard Molinaro

Writers:

Jean-Claude Brisville (writer)
Sacha Guitry (play)

Release Date:

17 October 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | History | Romance

Tagline:

A most remarkable true story of love affairs, scandals and espionage.

Plot:

The life story of the titular Beaumarchais (Fabrice Luchini), playwright and adventurer, who gets himself...

Plot Keywords:

King Louis XV | Prison | Paris France | Marie Antoinette | Theater

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

Fabrice Luchini	...	Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais
Sandrine Kiberlain	...	Marie-Thérèse
Manuel Blanc	...	Gudin
Michel Aumont	...	Baron de Breteuil
Jean-François Balmer	...	Sartine
Jean-Claude Brialy	...	Abbot
Patrick Bouchitey	...	Monsieur Lejay
Evelyne Bouix	...	Madame Vigee Lebrun
Isabelle Carré	...	Rosine
José Garcia	...	Figaro
Alain Chabat	...	Le courtisan à Versailles
Pierre Gérard	...	Comte de Provence
Judith Godrèche	...	Marie-Antoinette
Murray Head	...	Lord Rochford
Axelle Laffont	...	Mariette Lejay

Also Known As:

Beaumarchais the Scoundrel (USA)

Runtime:

100 min | USA:116 min | Argentina:115 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Germany:6 (w) | Spain:T | UK:15 | Argentina:13

Company:

Canal+

Quotes:

Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais: By "we", I mean France.

Magnifique

This is a must-see film. It is a sumptuous period piece on any terms, with consistently splendid visuals of both interiors and exteriors.

But forget all that. It is everything a movie should be: inspiring, clever, funny, real .... what else do you want?

Beaumarchais is the watchmaker's son turned playwright who is most familiar to Western culture as the creator of Figaro, the central character is the famous Mozart and Rossini operas.

That he was, but he was also at times a court conspirator, a champion of liberty, a defender of the weak, a lazy sybarite, a pretend aristocrat, a humorist, a shallow womanizer, and a revolutionary. That a movie and a performer can capture all the facets of such a complex man is a wonderful achievement.

The actor, Fabrice Luchini, creates something memorable ... a revolutionary who fights not with fiery speeches or rabble armies, but with a half-smile and by out-playing the corrupted at their own games. He is brave without bravado. His unobtrusive looks and his whispery lisp disguise a will of steel.

The movie takes a fair look at the man as man ... flawed in many ways ... average in many other ways .... failing as often as he succeeds ... yet ultimately one of the architects of the spirit that empowered the new world to overturn the old aristocracies and asserts the rights of man.

Entwined as his spirit may be with the spirit of France, and his presence with the details of its revolution, you don't need to know one word of French or one fact of French history to love the movie. It's charming as hell on several levels, and it's just plain good.