It’s not too hard to understand the fascination men have with Don Juan. For a certain type of man, he has access to the dream life: sex, women, carnal power — all vested in this one figure. Serge Bozon is the latest director to produce an adaptation of the Tirso de Molina character. But his take is tailored for a world swept by #MeToo.
In Bozon’s Don Juan, Laurent (Tahar Rahim) is an actor tasked with playing the legendary seducer in a play. But he’s been jilted by his fiancée, Julie (Virginie Efira). (He’s not sure why, but we see her watch him looking at another woman on the proposed day of their wedding.) The play has its own problems: his female partner, Marina (Louise Ribiere) is struggling. In one scene, we see her go meet Laurent, ostensibly in a bid to seduce him for the sake of the play. He rejects her, perhaps for the sake of the play, perhaps for his own soul.
Outside of work, though, Laurent is a drunken wreck looking, as he says at one point, for love. He sees the face of his bride in several women, none of whom are fans of his creepy approach. This is an off-kilter musical, so Laurent is able to burst into song sometimes when wooing women. But in one scene, he keeps ordering drinks for a lady, until she becomes obviously displeased. Another gives him a black eye. If artists speak about suffering for love, this one is really just suffering from a malady. Bozon’s Laurent-as-Don Juan isn’t half as successful as his ancient forebear—but love and his women punish him. Rahim is quite astute in the role and Efira shines whenever the camera happens on her face.
That seems to be on the verge of changing when Julie is cast opposite him in the play, following Marina’s exit. Perhaps there is the chance for a reunion, or maybe even a completed wedding?
Does this sound like a very mobile tale? Apologies are due because it really isn’t. Bozon favours the still style of some European cinema. The camera pans here and moves there. But this isn’t a film that moves too much; there isn’t much by way of plot, even with the introduction of a character who appears to have an axe to grind with Laurent. This is the main reason the audience for this version of Don Juan is likely to be found at festivals of a super-specific bent.
Is Don Juan a musical? Kind of. Is it a romcom? Maybe, but with a dour bite. The overall tone is somewhat elegiac and Sébastien Buchmann lenses it all as though the story were haunted by ancient presences.
Cast: Tahar Rahim, Virginie Efira, Alain Chamfort
Director: Serge Bozon
Producers: David Thion, Philippe Martin
Screenplay: Serge Bozon, Axelle Ropert
Cinematography: Sébastien Buchmann
Editing: François Quiqueré
Production design: Pascale Consigny
Music: Benjamin Esdraffo, Laurent Talon, Mehdi Zannad
Production companies: Les Films Pelléas, Frakas Productions
International sales: MK2 Films
Production companies: Pelléas Films and Frakas Productions
Venue: Cannes Film Festival (Première screenings)
In French
100 minutes
