Life imitates art, quite beautifully, in Philippe Le Guay's enchanting BICYCLING WITH MOLIÈRE

French filmmaker Philippe Le Guay has had quite an interesting career, working successfully in various genres -- from his most recent hit, the nostalgic and socially-conscious rom-com The Women on the 6th Floor to his earlier and very dark movie about work and family, Nightshift (Trois Huit) and a very interesting and barbed look at how the French bourgeoisie lived back in 2003, The Cost of Living. All told, he's directed eleven films (theatrical and television) and written twenty-two. Now comes one of his best: BICYCLING WITH MOLIÈRE, the charming, classy tale of a classic piece of French literature attempting to be brought to exhilarating life by a pair of France's finest actors (Fabrice Luchini and Lambert Wilson) -- who happen to be portraying a pair of France's finest actors.

M. Le Guay, shown at left, came up with the idea for this film along with M. Luchini (the two have collaborated several times), who is said to be an expert on the great playwright, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known by his stage name, Molière. Despite his great gift for comedy and farce, M. Luchini would seem to possess an intelligence both wide-ranging and deep, all of which is put to use by the actor and M. Le Guay in this new film. In it, Luchini plays Serge Tanneur (below, left), a well-respected actor who has given up his profession due to its pettiness and nastiness of the people who surrounded him. Into his now quiet life comes M. Wilson, as Gauthier Valence (below, right), another successful actor who currently is the hot TV star in what sounds and looks like a soapy series about a cosmetic surgeons who always seems to be saving lives. Gautheir wants to get back to his theatrical roots and so is set on having Serge join him in a new production of Molière's The Misanthrope.

But who will play Alceste, the meaty title role of the play? Gauthier wants it for himself, but Serge says no.  If he is to return to the stage, he must play Alceste. Well, maybe the two actors could switch roles periodically, giving both the chance to shine? Serge insists on a few days of rehearsal before giving his answer, and so the two begin to rehearse, as well as spend a lot of time together in the little seaside town where Serge dwells.

There they meet Francesca (Maya Sansa, above), an Italian divorcee who is initially angry at them and the world around her but then quickly (a tad too quickly, perhaps) warms up to our two chums.

The meat of the movie charts this growing relationship between the men, and theirs with both the play at hand and with this new woman, and it gives us a raft of small moments of jealousy and envy, as well as others that bring to the fore the actor's skill with this playwright and the playwright's great skill with words. Molière lovers will kvell. (Yours truly once played Philinte in a college production of this play, and even though I was far too young and green to appreciate even half of its genius, this opened the door to my enduring love for the playwright.)

Midway, there's a fine scene in which a young actress, keen to continue making porno films, takes a mother-induced meeting with our classic actors and reads a speech from the play. What begins as cringe-inducing, slowly turns into something lovely, as the character (and actress: newcomer Laurie Bordesoules, below) warms to the words.

The movie should also give lovers of The Misanthrope a field day, for it finds within the characters of the two men, and the woman, plenty of similar characteristics to those of Alceste, Philinte and Célimène and the rest of the play's cast of characters. In fact, there is one brilliant scene near the finale in which Serge looks over the entire galaxy of people involved in the upcoming production and sees... well, you'll see. This is a splendid few moments brought to fine life by Le Guay, Luchni and the rest of the cast.

If you know Luchini's work -- from Claire's Knee onward, you'll know that there is damn little he can't do. His work here is sterling; the man just gets better and better with age. M. Wilson, below, looks fabulously sexy (as he so often does) but here this is cleverly combined with that ever-so-slightly self-satisfied "star" quality that successful actors sometimes radiate.

Ms Sansa, below, about to be seen here in the USA in a terrific role in Bellocchio's Dormant Beauty, makes a lovely foil for our guys. Though it is pretty clear that the whole story was designed to explore actors, acting and Molière, the three leads do yeoman work at turning their "characters" into as close to full-blooded people as possible.

Le Guay might have spared us two falls off bikes and into the canal (though it probably seemed important that this happen to both Gauthier and Serge). Overall, though, the movie is one near-constant joy to see and hear, as it gives one of the world' great playwrights and his work yet another choice moment in the sun.

From Strand Releasing and running 104 minutes, Bicycling with Molière, gets its U.S. theatrical premiere this Wednesday, April 23, in New York City at Film Forum. In Los Angeles, look for the film at Laemmle's Royal and Playhouse 7 on May 2, and at Laemmle's Town Center on May 9. Elsewhere? Let's hope. Otherwise, watch for it eventually on DVD and maybe Netflix streaming.

Le Guay's WOMEN ON THE 6TH FLOOR, another smart/art crowd-pleaser, opens

First shown in New York during this past year's Rendez-vous With French Cinema at the FSLC, Philippe Le Guay's delicious and often surprising THE WOMEN ON THE 6TH FLOOR is yet another in the recent crop of excellent French crowd-pleasers (The Names of Love, The Hedgehog, My Afternoons With Margueritte) to open in the U.S.) In some ways, in fact, it's the best of them.

Taking place in the Paris of the 1960s, when, according to this film, Spanish maids were relishing the opportunity to get away from the Franco regime and make some money in France, the movie posits a perfect-ly ordinary seeming situation in which a haute bourgeois husband gets involved in the lives of these maids, with results that are, by turns, delightful, funny and moving. As co-writer (with Jérôme Tonnerre) and director, M. Le Guay (shown at left) has set up and then executed his sweet tale with effortless assurance, which makes each turn of events appear to work quite believably and often beautifully.

Further, he has cast in his film's leading roles two of France's finest actors, one of which is giving a just-about-perfect performance -- maybe his best ever (which is saying something). That actor is Fabrice Luchini, most recently seen as the nasty husband in Potiche, and of late in The Girl from Monaco, Paris and Molière). M. Luchini takes this plum role and turns it into a journey of discovery that pulls us along with his chararcter, as he learns and grows.

As his less fortunate wife, Sandrine Kiberlain (of Mademoiselle Chambon and Après Vous) is wonderful, too. To watch her character as she tries to comes to terms, generally unsuccessfully, with growth and change is to witness a great actress at the height of her powers, able to do so much with such subtlety. She plays a sad, circumscribed woman so well that we feel for her, even as we find it difficult to abide her.

The most important of the Spanish maids is played by the versatile and still-being-discovered actress Natalia Verbeke (above), who may have the most difficult job -- turning her character from a cliché into a flesh-and-blood specimen with her own problems and life to live. Ms Verbeke comes through just fine. Among the other maids, the great Spanish actress, Carmen Maura, shines in a small supporting role.

In its sweet, quiet manner the film tackles thorny problems of class distinctions, snobbery, xenophobia and more. But it never preaches, only entertains while provoking a little thought. Its unusual look at the fashions and decor of France in the 1960s should also delight. The film is a must-see for all of these things, but mostly for the treasure that is M. Luchini. What an actor; what a performance!

From Strand Releasing, The Women on the 6th Floor opens this Friday, October 7, at the Paris Theatre in New York City, and at four Laemmle Theater locations in the greater Los Angeles area -- followed by a national roll out.