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(France) Directed by Alain Corneau (Fort Saganne, Choice of Arms)
Cast: Gérard Depardieu, Guillaume Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Jean-Pierre Marielle
Plot: (Leonard Maltin's summary) Exquisitely detailed historical biography examining the relationship between Sainte Colombe (Marielle), the obsessive, almost mystical 17th-century baroque composer and cellist, and his protegé, Marin Marais (Gérard Depardieu), a man of far less elevated artistic aspirations, who was a celebrated court composer at Versailles. Both stars are excellent, with Depardieu's son Guillaume effectively playing the young Marin Marais. Exemplary use of music on the soundtrack. Screenplay by the director and Pascal Quignard, based on the latter's novel. A smash hit in France, where it won seven César awards.
(my 2 cents) This is a very erotic romance as well as a film about music -- the younger Marais' affair with Colombe's daughter (Brochet) happily consumes much of the plot and general nudity and frolicking abound. However the true subject of the film is genius -- in this case musical genius in the form of St. Colombe. In that sense it has echoes of Amadeus and should be enjoyed by most people with a respect for creativity.
Awards: Won 7 César (French Academy Awards) awards including Best Director and Best Picture.
Trivia: Anne Brochet teamed earlier with Depardieu in Cyrano in which she plays Roxanne. Also, this is *the* film with Depardieu pere et fils. Guillaume (who was a serious music student in real life) quite effectively plays the younger incarnation of Gérard. He has a lot of screen time and is exquisite in this film, no doubt accounting for his own avid fan base. Guillaume also plays the 'young' version of Gérard in Count of Monte Cristo.
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