Ridicule

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Costume Drama
Review:
Set in the court of King Louis XVI, a young country baron, Ponceludon, travels to Versailles seeking the support of the king to rid his lands of the festering marshes that plague them. What Ponceludon soon learns is that access to the king is granted either through political connections or through wit - the ability to impress the court with cutting verbal prowess. He eventually beds the influential and politically powerful Madame de Blayac to gain access to the court. But to survive there Ponceludon must match his wits with the more ambitious and nefarious nobles who plot against him. Wit, he finds, is not so much about humor as it is about power, cruelty and inflicting insults. In the era of King Louis XVI wit is more valued than intellect.

Ridicule is a 5-star delight to watch. Wonderfully told, superbly acted and beautifully filmed. This is one film that stimulates the intellect while pleasing the eye.


Rating:
Summary: About the DVD...
Review: It's the waning days of the old regime in France. A conscientious but impoverished nobleman from the south travels to Versailles to petition the royal government for funds to drain his swamps so that his tenants can be spared periodic outbreaks of disease. Instead of finding the sympathetic ears he expected, he finds a government nearing bankruptcy, a well-intentioned but befuddled king who is surrounded by a bureaucracy trying to temper the king's naive generosity and stave off the final collapse, and an aristocracy that has descended into a depraved comedy of manners. All substantive thought at court has been replaced by endless games of witticisms, whereby a person's social standing and political access are functions of mastering the art of the putdown . . . preferrably in as ascerbic a manner as possible.

To everyone's surprise -- including his own -- our hero turns out to be quite good at the art of malicious wit. First trying to use his new-found talent to speed up his campaign to drain his swamps, he soon succumbs to the appeal of the game for the game's sake. A series of events eventually snaps him back to reality, and therein lies the plot of the piece.

This is a supremely engaging costume piece. The cast is superb, the settings and costumes dead-on accurate, the dialog entertaining and sophisticated. In the end, it's really a gorgeously-filmed morality play about the triumph of conscience over wealth, power, and hollow social graces. The only real fault with the movie from a historical perspective is that it portrays Louis XVI as the affable nitwit of popular legend instead of the serious monarch overwhelmed by ultimately uncontrollable events that he really was.

This movie is so good at drawing you in that you soon cease to notice you're reading subtitles (at least if you don't speak fluent French). Although the plot hinges on the most delicate subtleties of 18th-century court French, the story telegraphs through with searing clarity. And it's a story for all times, all places, and all tongues.

Rating:
Summary: Off With Their Heads!
Review: It's the waning days of the old regime in France. A conscientious but impoverished nobleman from the south travels to Versailles to petition the royal government for funds to drain his swamps so that his tenants can be spared periodic outbreaks of disease. Instead of finding the sympathetic ears he expected, he finds a government nearing bankruptcy, a well-intentioned but befuddled king who is surrounded by a bureaucracy trying to temper the king's naive generosity and stave off the final collapse, and an aristocracy that has descended into a depraved comedy of manners. All substantive thought at court has been replaced by endless games of witticisms, whereby a person's social standing and political access are functions of mastering the art of the putdown . . . preferrably in as ascerbic a manner as possible.

To everyone's surprise -- including his own -- our hero turns out to be quite good at the art of malicious wit. First trying to use his new-found talent to speed up his campaign to drain his swamps, he soon succumbs to the appeal of the game for the game's sake. A series of events eventually snaps him back to reality, and therein lies the plot of the piece.

This is a supremely engaging costume piece. The cast is superb, the settings and costumes dead-on accurate, the dialog entertaining and sophisticated. In the end, it's really a gorgeously-filmed morality play about the triumph of conscience over wealth, power, and hollow social graces. The only real fault with the movie from a historical perspective is that it portrays Louis XVI as the affable nitwit of popular legend instead of the serious monarch overwhelmed by ultimately uncontrollable events that he really was.

This movie is so good at drawing you in that you soon cease to notice you're reading subtitles (at least if you don't speak fluent French). Although the plot hinges on the most delicate subtleties of 18th-century court French, the story telegraphs through with searing clarity. And it's a story for all times, all places, and all tongues.

Rating:
Summary: Ohhh La La ... Those decadent French
Review: Off to the court of King Louis XVI in the late 1700's went our young hero to appeal for funds required to drain the swamp near his old country bumpkin estate. Problem is that in the decadent court of the King, real life is what we would call 'The Twilight Zone' today with most of the court having practiced hedonism so long they don't even remember what it is like to be normal ...


Just like Washington tody? .... HHMMMM


Anyway, to get close to the King it is critical that you are a master of wit .... yup thats right ... wit ....not the lowly pun, and definitely not humour ... OH shock ..... For those members of the court, or prtetnders that were'nt shart enough to be whitty, they were ridiculed or shunned. Fortunately for our hero, he is smart enough to show those court slickers a thing or two ...


The movie is well acted, light hearted and great fun ... but if you movie fare is for more simpler action tatstes like Kill Bill Vol 1, or if you are under the age of 30 ... maybe better you pass this one up .. I however loved this DVD ...

Rating:
Summary: Dramatic Invective
Review: Patrice Leconte's film on the pageantries and sophistries of King Louis XVI's Court, a place where there are many words flying about yet little substance in governance. The protagonist is Ponceludon de Malavoy (Charles Berling), a low-ranked nobleman who seeks a royal grant to drain the swamps plaguing his region. He is, unfortunately, a new-comer to the King's court and needs to be properly introduced to the King. He receives help from the Marquis de Bellegarde (Jean Rochefor) and his loving daughter (Judith Godrèche.) Malavoy also comes under the machinations of Madame de Blayac (Fanny Ardant) to befriend the King. As he navigates through the King's court, Malavoy is subjected to the invectives of sycophantic nobles who seek to exploit the King for their own petty needs. With little wealth and a low title, Malavoy soon realizes that the only weapon he has is his wit (esprit.) As he come closer to appealing to the King, he maneuvers his wit and invective as a musketeer wields his rapier. The script is excellent and the story is filled with the art of invective and wit. A perfect example of some of the witty encounters in the film is when the King asks Malavoy why he has made jokes of only the aristocracy but not of him? With a reserved smile Malavoy replies, "The King is not a subject your Majesty!"

Rating:
Summary: Dramatic Invective
Review: Patrice Leconte's film on the pageantries and sophistries of King Louis XVI, a place where there are many words flying about but little substance in governance.

The protagonist is a low-ranked nobleman, Ponceludon de Malavoy (Charles Berling), who seeks a royal grant to drain the swamps plaguing his region. He is, unfortunately, a new-comer to the King's court and receives help from the Marquis de Bellegarde (Jean Rochefor) and his loving daughter(Judith Godrèche.) Malavoy also receives the help of Madame de Blayac (Fanny Ardant) to befriend the King. As he navigates through the King's court, Malavoy is subjected to the invectives of sycophantic nobles who seek to exploit the King for their own petty needs. Malavoy soon realizes that the only weapon he has that is greater than wealth or title is his wit (esprit). As he come closer to appealing to the King, he maneuvers his wit and invective as a musketeer does his rapier.

This is somewhat of a light drama with plenty of humor/sarcasm. I wouln't recommend this film to young teenagers or children as one or two scenes contain brief nudity which reasonable persons may consider graphic (not pornograhic though; there are no scenes showing any sexual intercourse or suggestive poses.) The script is excellent and the story flows with the art of invective and argument. A perfect example of some of the double-entendre is when the King asks Malavoy why he has made jokes of only the aristocracy but not of him? With a controlled smile Malavoy replies, 'The King is not a subject your Majesty!'


Rating:
Summary: Literate and Wicked
Review: Ridicule is a French film which takes place in 1783, a few years before Louis XVI lost the ability to wear a hat; where "...in this country, vices are without consequence, but ridicule can kill." The film is about the effect of wit and word play on people's lives and careers. Malicious, mannered and highly enjoyable. Charles Berling, Jean Rochefort, Bernard Giraudeau and Fanny Ardant are excellent. A man would be a fool not to want to bed Ardant, and even more a fool to trust her.

The film is sumptuously mounted and the DVD transfer does it justice. The dialogue is so clever a knowledge of French might be in order, but the English subtitles do a superb job of conveying the witty, cruel, self-serving word play.

Rating:
Summary: Literate and Wicked
Review: Ridicule is a French film which takes place in 1783, a few years before Louis XVI lost the ability to wear a hat; where "...in this country, vices are without consequence, but ridicule can kill." The film is about the effect of wit and word play on people's lives and careers. Malicious, mannered and highly enjoyable. Charles Berling, Jean Rochefort, Bernard Giraudeau and Fanny Ardant are excellent. A man would be a fool not to want to bed Ardant, and even more a fool to trust her.

The film is sumptuously mounted and the DVD transfer does it justice. The dialogue is so clever a knowledge of French might be in order, but the English subtitles do a superb job of conveying the witty, cruel, self-serving word play.

Rating:
Summary: About the DVD...
Review: The DVD is pretty bare bones. You get a nice widescreen transfer (the full-screen VHS was pan and scan, so you do see more image with the widescreen) and surround sound. The English subtitles are not "burned in" to the image...you must activate them with the captions option on your DVD player.

The only "extra" is a commercial ballyhooing Miramax's achievements in recent years.