The Libertine
France • 1h 38m
Directed by Gabriel Alghion • Drama • With Vincent Perez, Fanny Ardant • 2000 • 100 minutes
France, late 18th Century. The State, in alliance with the Church, has forbidden the publication and distribution of Diderot’s Encyclopædia. Meanwhile, Diderot and his family are holed up with some friends at Baron Holbach’s chateau, overseeing the underground printing of his work. As he struggles with the "Morality" chapter of the illicit Encyclopædia, Diderot juggles his mistresses, his wife’s suspicions and his daughter’s libertarian tendencies. The arrival of the beautiful, mysterious Madame Therbouche, closely followed by that of Baron Holbach’s sententious brother, the Cardinal, do nothing to simplify this libertine community’s life. Or Diderot’s, for that matter…
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