Ridicule
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Movie Reviews of Ridicule
Movie Review: Beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
beautiful everything, from the costumes to the dialogue to the scenery...a bit along the same vein as the count of monte cristo. an interesting study of the pettiness of humansMovie Review: The Mystique of Wit and Ridicule
Summary: 4 Stars
The first time we glimpse Madame de Blayac (Fanny Arendt)she is naked and servants are blowing white powder all over her body and face to give her the semblance of a flawless complexion. We do not know it yet but this may as well be a war painting ceremony. She and her accomplice, the appropriately named L'Abbe de Vilecourt, are two of Versailles most powerful and viscious social figures. If they decide that you are witty then you are invited to become a part of their coterie, but if you are dull then they heap their ridicule on you in one of their public disgracing ceremonies. Madame de Blayac and Vilecourt seem to thrive on their capacity for cruelty; it is the measure of their power.
Into this world trots an unsuspecting young country lord named Malavoy (Charles Berling) who desperately needs funds to drain the swamps on his estate to prevent his peasants from dying of mosquito related illnesses. The only chance he has of receiving the necessary funds is if he can gain an audience with the king. However, a whole world of courtly proprieties stand between Malavoy and the king. In short, to get to the king Malavoy must negotiate Madame de Blayac's and Vilecourt's crucible of wit.
With his natural gift for verbal display Malavoy immediately impresses Madame de Blayac and her circle but she is not the type to do anything for anybody unless she gets something out of it herself and it soon becomes clear to Malavoy that Madame de Blayac will require that he tend to her private as well as her public pleasures and in return she will see to it that he get his audience with the king.
Meanwhile en route between court and country Malavoy is robbed and left for dead on the road. A country doctor (Jean Rochefort) finds him and helps him to recover at his country estate where Malavoy falls immediately smitten with the doctor's beautiful daughter Mathilde (Judith Godreche). Malavoy and Mathilde immediately hit it off despite the fact that the teenage Mathilde is in the process of negotiating a marriage with a man five times her age. But as soon as Malavoy is healthy enough he must return to the court in order to press his case once again and that means a return to the courts vices and follies and, of course, to Madame de Blayac.
As far as Malavoy is concerned as soon as he has his chance to present his case to the king his obligation to Madame de Blayac will be over but Malavoy does not realize that the game is over only when Madame de Blayac says it is over. And once Madame de Blayac discovers that Malavoy has a woman in the country her revenge is swift.
Malavoy's natural wit shines against the opulent artificial surfaces of Versailles and he defeats the overly crafted wit of Vilecourt time and again but we fear that these are only small skirmishes in a war of the wits that he cannot win. We just hope that Malavoy will be able to escape this vile world before its too late.
The most interesting scenes show a Malavoy that is not immune to the allures of court life, wealth and power and even of Madame de Blayac. And it is in these scenes that we wonder just how far he will go to get what he wants and whether there will ever be any turning back once he gets there. We see a secession of lords and barons who have their own cases to plead ridiculed and turned away and we know Malavoy's turn will eventually come, for ridicule is the courts way of keeping the insiders in and the outsiders out and Malavoy is only a guest in this world.
The ending is a surprise. It comes a little abruptly and yet it also seems perfect. The mystique of wit and ridicule (of arbitrary power or power exercised arbitrarily, and of the snobberies of high society) haunts the minds of those who were wounded as well as wowed by it even after the regime that sponsored it has vanished.
Movie Review: Dramatic Invective
Summary: 4 Stars
Patrice Leconte's film on the pageantries and sophistries of King Louis XVI's court, a place where there are many words flying about but little substance in those who utter them.
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!' Another great thing about this film is that there is really no major deviation from the original novel other than the ommission of one or two scenes in the novel that are are of no consequence to the main plot. This has to be one of the most faithful book to film adaptations which is somewhat of a rarity.
Movie Review: Literate and wicked
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Movie Review: play on words
Summary: 4 Stars
Wordplay, knowledge and expertise at twisting and manipulating language into matches of wit lie at the heart of this delicious, beautiful film. The protagonist, Le Marquis Grégoire Ponceludon de Malavoy, comes to court to petition the King for a grant to drain the swamps plaguing his region. In order to reach the King, he is helped by a man and his intelligent, beautiful daughter and also by the vicious and scheming Madame de Blayac (Fanny Ardant). Eventually what earns him favor is his gift for sharp, biting wit and word play. Although I am sure a comprehensive knowledge of French would augment the viewing experience, the subtitles at least convey the sense of clever wit that could lead to fame or undoing.