Les Caprices de l’Enfant Roi (Molière, Cyrano and the Young King)
Les Caprices de l’Enfant Roi (Molière, Cyrano and the Young King): having fun with a cloak-and-dagger film about theatre
After Le mélange des genres, Michel Leclerc presents a Special Screening of his new film Les Caprices de l’Enfant Roi (Molière, Cyrano and the Young King), starring a host of talented actors including Artus, Franck Dubosc, Doria Tillier and Julia Piaton. With this feature film, which imagines young Louis XIV hiding in Molière and Madeleine Béjart’s theatre troupe under the protection of Cyrano de Bergerac and D’Artagnan, the director is above all standing up for the pleasure of storytelling, acting, and imagination.
“It’s a true story, unless you’re a historian.” Michel Leclerc does not seek to make an academic reconstruction in Les Caprices de l’Enfant Roi (Molière, Cyrano and the Young King). He feels that the historical film often seems doomed to adopt a certain gravitas. Here, by contrast, he is choosing to reconnect with what he calls the adventure-packed comedy, films that blend flair, humor and emotion without ever sacrificing viewing pleasure. The film fully accepts its own improbabilities, shortcuts and moments of pure make-believe. Michel Leclerc puts it in a nutshell: “Emotional logic is stronger than pure logic.”
Because, the director continues, the film works like a huge playground. “When you make a film like this, more than for any other kind, you’re like a kid making up stories: ‘So there’s a bad guy who kidnaps the child, but suddenly the hero appears…’ It’s quite magical… We all turn into children again.” This childish joy can be felt throughout the project. It’s a vision shared by Julia Piaton, who plays Madeleine Béjart: “We were outdoors almost all the time. There was a magical atmosphere. The set was very rural, in the tall grass. It was in July, and the heat was scorching, but we were very free. We had lots of fun.” Duels, chases, false pretenses, lookalikes and even political conspiracies provide space for play.
Theatre occupies a central place in this mechanism. More than just a backdrop, it is the heart of the film. Everything is filtered through it: emotions, power dynamics, public personas, seduction. It even provides a learning environment for the young Louis XIV. When he leaves the Palais-Royal to join a traveling theatre troupe, the child not only discovers the people and the world, but also the power of performance. This is also one of the film’s central ideas: the narrative that the future Sun King created himself through his encounters with artists. Here, the boy-king discovers opposing visions of the world and of power. Art therefore becomes a tool of both political and emotional development.
Les Caprices de l’Enfant Roi (Molière, Cyrano and the Young King) is a film that plays with genres, has fun with history… A film that has fun, quite simply. And lets us have fun.
