Cinema Junkie by Beth Accomando

Romain Duris as Moliere (Sony Pictures)



For someone who is often referred to as France's Shakespeare, Moliere has had relatively few adaptations of his plays to the screen. Or should I say relatively few memorable ones. Now French filmmaker Laurent Tirard has come up with a fictional biography of the great playwright called Moliere (opening August 3 at Landmark's La Jolla Village Theatres ).

Moliere, born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, apparently went missing from history for a few years and filmmaker Laurent Tirard taps into this unknown period of Moliere's life to speculate on what the young playwright might have been up to around 1644. Tirard's film serves up what has been referred to as a French spin on Shakespeare in Love. Tirard's film gives us Moliere in Love and the experience, as with Shakespeare, provides material for a play. Or in Moliere's case two.