This one is for the misanthrope in all of us & much as we would like for it to be untrue, we all feel misanthropy creeping up on us from time to time. Be it the moron in front of us at the superstore queue who moves too slowly or the moron who keeps trying to rush you along while you are checking out your items & paying for those. The temperaments of the two friends, Serge & Gauthier, are almost opposite; with Serge being cynical of all human relationships & Gauthier being a bit too popular with the ladies & the masses in general. What spiced up the movie for me were the brief moments in the movie when it felt like Serge might actually not shun human affection for a change & Gauthier might start feeling a bout of misanthropy coming upon him!
The film draws parallels between Moliere's play 'The Misanthrope' & the story of two actor friends. The beauty of this movie is that there are places where the movie & the play are superimposed so well that it seems difficult to understand where the line from the play ends and the real conversation begins between these two friends. This is interesting film-making! The acting is amazing and as always, Luchini brought his A game.
I loved how the film shows that at our cores, we are all the same! How even the most cynical of us may feel the stirrings of love melting the glacier inside their hearts while the most philanthropic ones may feel a moment of pure hatred for mankind! And how even a once brilliant but now retired actor who doesn't really want to 'cheapen' his art by doing popular but inferior work could still feel jealous of his friend who does exactly that, while the said friend in turn could want the approval of this retired friend who's truly gifted! And of course, how art is timeless & relevant at any day & age!
Oh, and some of the scenes are quite funny.
