gavin6942
To get royal backing on a needed drainage project, a poor French lord must learn to play the delicate games of wit at court at Versailles.Now, I know what I am supposed to enjoy about this film is the game of wits played between all these wealthy French folks. And to a certain extent I do. I really enjoyed the rhyming contest, for example. And it made me wonder how the translator handled that, because the subtitles rhymed, but could not possibly have matched the original French.But what I actually liked most was the diving suit. That may be stupid, but as a genre fan, I love seeing makeup and costumes, and this old suit really looked great... sort of a sea monster meets robot look to it. Very cool.
susan-317
This is one of my favorite films. There are several story lines - the primary is about a young noble named Ponceludon wishing to drain his swamps in the Dombs, and seeking help from the Court of Louis the XV. What makes the film so memorable are the quips our hero makes. What a wonderful script! Although the film does not explain the differences between the peasants and the nobility which eventually led to the French Revolution, it does include scientific interests of the day and references to Pascal's writings, and the "discovery" of sign language for the deaf.See it for the sumptuous costuming, the script, the gorgeous art design and the beautiful leading ladies.
pc95
"Ridicule" is a fabulous French movie of the mid-90's that I recently checked out for viewing. It runs a brisk run-time replete with sharp characters and a highly interesting theme of Wit, and how it seemed to dominate the atmosphere and subject of French Aristocratic social occasions. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole cast and direction on all levels of support. The protagonist was mostly admirable less one complete lapse in judgment and plan. (spoiler) The duel was mesmerizing, and the relationships all built on one another. Perhaps best of all was the early third of the movie with the father Belgarde aiding Malevoy in his quest to a greater cause, not out of honor or cause, but for the wit he saw in him. The layers of superficiality are stunning. This movie is as good or better as Amadeus. A great watch that starts out a bit slow of pace.
Neossir
One of the most terrible thing in the movie is, in my opinion, the bad acting of Charles Berling, and the very bad acting of Judith Godrèche. They're romance is not very well exposed, except maybe the scene of the knee underlined by Steve Rhodes in his review.The rituals in the french court, the manners, the languages' game are interesting. The dialogs are pretty well written. There are some great scenes, like the one of the duel. Some characters are well played, first of all the Jean Rochefort character, very moving. Bernard Giraudeau is also great, and Fanny Ardant as well (but I have a personnel problem with her acting in general).The systematic construction between the scenes is a bit annoying, as well as the "false" return of Grégoire in the middle, before his "too-much predictable" come-back.The movie is alright, the directing correct (sometimes great), but it misses something to make it a film I'd like to see again.
AD
