Theater in cinema2 reading minutes

Cinema Wednesdays - Jonas Follonier

When it's announced that theater is coming to film, we're perplexed: we're skeptical about this new avatar of mixing genres, which our era is so fond of, and whose examples have sometimes been catastrophic... Just think of the literature-music mix with Camus, art or revolt, a current show by rapper Abd Al Malik that combines his slam with the literary genius of Albert Camus.

And yet, as is often the case, this prejudice proves to be completely false when you go to the cinema. Last Thursday, February 9, at the Cinéma Rex in Neuchâtel, a relatively elderly audience, but not only, was able to discover on screen The Misanthrope by Molière, performed by the Comédie Française, broadcast live from the famous Salle Richelieu in Paris. Let's be objective: it was a real event.

A real event, yes, already through the choice of retransmitting the ambience of the hall too before the show, with the gradual arrival of the audience, the whispers, the preparation of the actors backstage, the splendor of the Salle Richelieu. It may sound banal, even silly, but «you'd think you were there!» And if this Parisian travel (and voyeuristic) effect wasn't successful, the theater-to-cinema formula would be pointless. It really is a whole, including of course the film of the play itself, but also the atmosphere that encompasses it.

Let's talk about the play itself: while the power of Molière's comedy is unquestionable, the fact remains that anyone who has already read and seen this play a hundred times would be well advised to attend this performance. Firstly, because the Troupe des Comédiens-Français, let it be said, brings together the elite of French-speaking actors, the crème de la crème, a concentration of talent! Secondly, because this filmed version of a cult play allows us to capture in large format the most extreme finesse, the most exceptional nuances of theatrical acting.

Driven by the indisputable superiority of the alexandrine over all other forms of discourse, this interpretation of the Misanthrope takes us from laughter to tears, but it's the feeling of dread that dominates: the topical (and therefore eternal) nature of this play is so burning that Alceste's cry in the face of society's totalitarian hypocrisy plunges the spectator into a deep, healthy malaise.

This unease is naturally accompanied by admiration for the actors and the staging - humble staging in the noblest sense of the word. And to all this is added what, personally, moves me the most: the sublime beauty of the classical French language, where words are as many diamonds and silences as many moments of intimacy.

The next theatrical event at Neuchâtel's Cinéma Rex: «Cyrano de Bergerac», by the Comédie Française, on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 at 8:30pm.

Write to the author : jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com

Crédit photo : © Unidivers