I first saw this movie when it was broadcast on the PBS Series "American Playhouse," around the same time they were doing things like Kurt Vonnegut's "Who am I this time?" directed by a young Jonathan Demme and starring Christopher Walken as a man almost paralyzed by overwhelming shyness, but who managed to live out a full and interesting life by acting in local theater productions and adopting the personalities of the characters he portrayed. Belizaire is just and compelling, interesting and wonderfully acted. This is an admittedly slow, but lyrical period piece that transports you to another time and place with effortless grace and simplicity. Assante is marvelous, with that amazing ability to disappear into character.