A luxurious biographical film about a coup plot is based on a true story in France in the 1930s. The flirtatious and unrestrained protagonist is a French Russian Jew who was arrested and jailed for fraud. When he came out, he changed his name to cheat everywhere, engaged in illegal speculation, and finally controlled the press and publishing circles, racecourse, politics and luxury social venues all over Paris. He is also a real gambler. In the end, the scandal was exposed, along with many implicated government officials. He had to commit suicide during the manhunt. At the same time, this incident also exposed the inside story and scandal of French politics, intensified the struggle among internal factions, and made the French government experience a serious political crisis and almost collapsed. The film examines the trend of human nature and the mental state of people in that era of economic depression and hesitation through the story of such a liar who has prospered by deception and tricks in high society. It is also inserted in the middle of the Soviet exile Trotsky to seek asylum in France, in sharp contrast to Stavitsky. The purpose of the choreographer is to imply the two extreme directions of French political orientation. Sondheim's music matches the picture just right.
6.6
