Ridicule
Ridicule is a 1996 French period drama film directed by Patrice Leconte and starring Charles Berling, Jean Rochefort, Fanny Ardant and Judith Godrèche. Set in the 18th century at the decadent court of Versailles, where social status can rise and fall based on one's ability to mete out witty insults and avoid ridicule oneself, the film's plot examines the social injustices of late 18th-century France, in showing the corruption and callousness of the aristocrats.
Plot
In 18th-century France, Baron Grégoire Ponceludon de Malavoy, a young, penniless, and naive aristocrat and engineer, devises a scheme to drain the marshy region of the Dombes that is causing disease, in order to improve the lot of the peasants living there. He sets off for Versailles in order to seek the support of King Louis XVI. Along the way, he is robbed and beaten, but he is taken in by the Marquis de Bellegarde, a physician, who teaches him about wit and the court's ways. Ponceludon realizes that the court is corrupt and hollow but finds solace in Mathilde de Bellegarde, the doctor's daughter, who agrees to marry a rich old man to support her science experiments and pay off her father's debts.
Cast
- Albert Delpy
- Antonin Lebas-Joly
- Bernard Dhéran
- Bernard Giraudeau
- Carlo Brandt
- Charles Berling
- Fabrice Eberhard
- Fanny Ardant
- Jacques Mathou
- Jacques Roman
- Jean Rochefort
- Judith Godrèche
- Laurent Valo
- Lucien Pascal
- Marie Pillet
- Maurice Chevit
- Mirabelle Kirkland
- Philippe du Janerand
- Philippe Magnan
- Urbain Cancelier
More details
| author | Rémi Waterhouse |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | France |
| director | Patrice Leconte |
| genre | drama historical social |
| keywords | aristocrat baron cannoneer cheat dombes force french revolution great britain kill king louis xvi louis xvi meet old man palace of versailles revolution the king versailles |
| musicBy | Antoine Duhamel |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best International Feature Film International Submission to the Academy Awards |
| producer | Philippe Carcassonne |
| publisher | PolyGram Filmed Entertainment UniFrance |