It is time for the next film from the Williams Lake Film Club.
Only two to go before Christmas!
On Tuesday, Dec. 1 we will show a French film, Bicycling with Molière.
This film is quite new, 2013, but had only a limited release in North America.
You are some of the few who actually get to see it.
It was really filmed on Ile de Ré off the coast of France, where the action takes place.
Languages are French and Italian, with English subtitles.
It runs for 104 minutes and is rated PG and is more a comedy than a drama.
The film is directed by Philippe Le Guay, who together with one of the main actors, Fabrice Luchini, is also the writer.
This film is not at all depressing, but very interesting and fun. Bicycling with Molière centres on two renowned French actors, Fabrice Luchini and Lambert Wilson who play actors in the film as well.
Serge, however, who once was a great actor has retired from the limelight.
Too much pressure meant that one day he simply decided he would act no more. For the past three years, he has lived in solitude on the Ile de Ré, spending his time cycling through the windswept landscape and thinking of renovating his run down cottage. And he is grumpy.
Gauthier on the other hand is a handsome actor who plays a cosmetic surgeon on a popular and highly paid nighttime soap opera.
When Gauthier (Lambert Wilson) visits Serge to convince him to join him in a production of Molière’s theatre play The Misanthrope, a battle of wits ensues over who will play the lead role of Alceste.
They both think it only can be, well, him.
These actors not only come from different show business worlds but also seemingly from different planets, and now the stage is set.
Between rehearsals the two bike along the windswept beaches, rival for the affection of a beautiful Italian divorcée and offer advice to an aspiring porn actress.
This film has it all, it is warm and funny. The location is beautiful, and it is intelligent and literate. It is fascinating to watch these two great actors battle it out, to observe the changes in their characters and their friendship, discussing such topics as ego, rivalry and love.
As the Los Angeles Times said, this is a critic’s pick — and great fun.
Bicycling with Molière will be shown at the Gibraltar Room starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1. Back doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission at the door is $9, for film club members $8, and $6 for seniors (65+ and students).
