Beaumarchais, l'insolent (1996) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski)

This is a terrific 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? The French know how to make period pieces, and this is a good one.
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-scheming the corrupted at their own games. He is brave without bravado. His unobtrusive looks and his whispery lisp disguise a will of steel.

NUDITY REPORT
Florence Thomassin showed her breasts, and possibly her pubes in an upskirt.
not yet available on region 1 DVD
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 Beaumarchais' 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.

The Critics Vote

  • General consensus: three stars. Berardinelli 3/4, Apollo 74/100

The People Vote ...

  • With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDB readers say 6.7/10, Apollo users 64/100.

 
IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a B-. I don't understand French, and I don't know much about French history, but I still liked it a lot.

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