) Late 18th century period romp, opulently presented and snappily directed by Edouard Molinaro (La Cage Aux Folles), describing one man's role in the origins of the French Revolution.
Beaumarchais (Fabrice Luchini) is that man (the playwright and philanderer who created The Barber Of Seville and The Marriage Of Figaro) upsetting the aristocracy both with his work and his campaigns outside the theatre as a self-styled (but self-interested) people's champion.
He also found time to travel to England to act as a spy for Louis XV and buy arms for the Americans to help their struggle to defeat the English. It's a busy story but Molinaro tells it with clarity, a fine sense of fun, and a cast of attractive and engaging characters that make it a treat for the eye