The Triumph of Love

This movie is about a princess simultaneously seducing a prince, his protégé and the protégé's sister, portraying herself as either a man or woman, all in the name of undoing a wrong that her family has done to the prince's a long time ago. It has some wit, with some wordplay, some farce comedy, and the slow breakdown of each of the character giving in to her seduction. But the buildup and final revelation at the end does not have the usual Shakespearean touch, where she would get closer and closer to being revealed, until a final big bang. This film just didn't have that, although it did produce some laughs when the protégé and his sister both come out dressed in clothes they otherwise would never be caught wearing.

The camerawork plays a bit with its jump cuts, trying to impose some sense of realism to this otherwise lack of stagey feeling film. The sudden revelation of the audience did not occur frequently enough to signify anything beyond an aberration of the plot.

Still, an interesting film with good interaction between characters, and a little insight to French plays of that period.

The Princess (Mira Sorvino) and her maiden Corine (Rachael Stirling) are disguised as men in order to infiltrate an estate. She had inherited the stolen throne from her family. She wishes to return it to the rightful heir Agis (Jay Rodan) whom she has fallen in love from afar. The problem is that Hermocrates (Ben Kingsley) had raised him to hate her. She entices Leontine (Fiona Shaw), the madam of the estate. Then she tries to seduce Hermocrates.

There is a bit of fun here. It's an 18th century play. Sorvino is trying very hard with both a fake voice and manly mannerisms. The estate is beautiful. The fourth wall is cracked with the injection of an audience. At that point, the movie is simply trying too hard. It adds nothing and subtracts from the reality of the story. This cannot do anything but feel like a play. Again Sorvino is trying very hard. Her seductions of both Leontine and Hermocrates are partly awkward and partly funny. It must have been hilarious comedy back in the 18th century. It has a lightness to it but is unable to fully embrace the intended comedy. It's all a little awkward but also a little fascinating.

Truly a remarkable film for its ups and downs. The ups are delightful (dialog, costuming, movement); the downs are simply awful (acting, timing, editing, concept). The "jump" cutting, so dear to advertisers, becomes extremely annoying. The reference to the play as play by intercutting scenes of modern-day audience watching the play and the cast "curtain call" in modern day dress are distracting. I wish they gave us the English to the French song at the end -- it's probably the best part, and my French is only good enough to guess at the meaning. It was also reformatted for the screen (TV) which already gives it two strikes in my opinion. The 18th century French must have loved it.

In college I studied Marivaux -- whose play this movie is based on -- so I have an understanding of the movie's context and characters. Given that, I found Triumph of Love to be rather enjoyable. But I don't recommend it for everyone. If you like Shakespeare in film or other cinematic adaptations of theater, you might well like this one. Mira Sorvino is, of course, lovely in the starring role(s).

i loved this movie. it was fun, humorous, entertaining, and witty. the play was first performed in 1732 but i think the plot meets (and excels) today's standards. Mira Sorvino did a great job as did all of the other cast members.

if you liked Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" or any Shakespearean style plots of mistaken identity, deception, lies, love, comedic betrayal, and that sort of thing, you will enjoy this movie.

(of course it is supposed to take place in France, but as everyone knows, they apparently all speak with English accents there. ha ha.)