''Le Libertin'' (The Libertine) is a French comedy film directed by

Gabriel Aghion Gabriel Aghion (born 30 December 1955) is a French film director and screenwriter. Aghion was born in Alexandria, in Egypt on 30 December 1955. He is openly gay."Bonjour, sweetie darling". ''The Advocate'', 20 November 2001. Selected filmogr ...

and released in 2000. It is an adaptation of a 1997 play by

Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt (; born 28 March 1960) is a French people, Franco-Belgians, Belgian playwright, short story writer and novelist, as well as a film director. His Play (theater), plays have been staged in over fifty countries all over the wo ...

Synopsis

The philosopher

Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during th ...

, one of the modernists of the French 18th-century

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

movement, is a guest at the

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

of the

Baron d'Holbach Paul Thiry, Baron d'Holbach (; ; 8 December 1723 – 21 January 1789), known as d'Holbach, was a Franco-German philosopher, encyclopedist and writer, who was a prominent figure in the French Enlightenment. He was born in Edesheim, near Landau ...

. The film depicts the Baron (in reality a major sponsor of Diderot) as a benign host and inventor of amusing machines, including a piganino. Diderot's banned ''

Encyclopédie , better known as ''Encyclopédie'' (), was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It had many writers, known as the Encyclopédistes. It was edited by Denis ...

'' is being secretly set up, printed and bound in a crypt beneath the chapel, where the noise of the presses is masked by the playing of an organ. Madame Therbouche, a purported portrait painter and intrigante, arrives from Berlin. She has made a painting of Diderot's idol,

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

, and convinces him to be more daring and to pose for her in the nude, leading to an animated row with his wife Antoinette. This unsavoury event is witnessed by a feared visitor, Baron d'Holbach's brother, the Cardinal, who is hunting for the illegal ''Encyclopédie'' printers. To divert him from entering the chapel, the Baroness confesses to him her real and imagined sins and sends every woman in the castle to do the same. Most notably her guest, the depraved Madame de Jerfeuil, is having a lesbian affair with her cousin. The couple is later joined spontaneously by her husband the Chevalier de Jerfeuil, who has been seduced by two other male guests. Diderot's romantic adventures oblige him to constantly revise his article on the subject of

morality Morality () is the categorization of intentions, Decision-making, decisions and Social actions, actions into those that are ''proper'', or ''right'', and those that are ''improper'', or ''wrong''. Morality can be a body of standards or principle ...

. Eventually, secret agenda are disclosed and the painter is revealed as a spy in the Cardinal's service. However, she finally defects to Diderot's material and sensual causes, and the Cardinal fails to find the clandestine publishing operation which has been transplanted to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Cast

* Denis Diderot -

Vincent Pérez Vincent Perez (born 10 June 1964) is a Swiss actor, director and photographer. He played the title character, Ashe Corven, in '' The Crow: City of Angels'', and starred in '' Queen of the Damned'', playing Marius de Romanus. Some of his films i ...

* Antoinette Diderot -

Françoise Lépine Françoise Lépine is a French actress. Theatre Filmography References External links * * French film actresses Living people 20th-century French actresses 21st-century French actresses Year of birth missing (living people) P ...

* Madame Therbouche -

Fanny Ardant Fanny Marguerite Judith Ardant (born 22 March 1949) is a French actress and film director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two César Awards and a Lumière Award. Early life Ardant was born on 22 March 1949, in Saumur, ...

* Julie d'Holbach -

Audrey Tautou Audrey Justine Tautou (; born 9 August 1976) is a French actress. She made her acting debut at age 18 on television, and her feature film debut in '' Venus Beauty Institute'' (1999), for which she received critical acclaim and won the César Awa ...

* Baroness d'Holbach -

Josiane Balasko Josiane Balasko (born Josiane Balašković; 15 April 1950) is a French actress, writer, and director. She has been nominated seven times for César Awards, and won twice. Career One of Balasko's most recognized roles among English speakers is ...

* Baron d'Holbach - François Lalande * The Cardinal -

Michel Serrault Michel Serrault (24 January 1928 – 29 July 2007) was a French stage and film actor who appeared from 1954 until 2007 in more than 130 films. Life and career His first professional job was in a touring production in Germany of Molière's '' Les ...

* Chevalier de Jerfeuil - Christian Charmetant * Madame de Jerfeuil -

Arielle Dombasle Arielle Dombasle (born April 27, 1953)Dombasle's year of birth has been a subject of much debate, and various sources have given dates ranging from 1953 to 1958. is an American-born French singer, actress, director and model. Her breakthrough ro ...

* Marquis de Cambrol -

Bruno Todeschini Bruno Todeschini (born 19 September 1962) is a Franco-Swiss actor. Life and career Todeschini studied at L'école supérieure d'art dramatique in Genève and after graduating in 1986, he joined the Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers, directed by ...

* Marquis de Lutz - Arnaud Lemaire * The cousin of Madame de Jerfeuil - Véronique Vella * Abraham - Yan Duffas

Release

The film opened 15 March 2000 in France in 212 theatres and grossed 13 million Franc ($2 million) in its opening week, placing third at the French box office.

References

External links

* 2000 films French historical comedy films 2000s historical comedy films Films directed by Gabriel Aghion Films set in the 18th century 2000s French-language films 2000s French films Denis Diderot {{2000s-comedy-film-stub