Ridicule: A Movie Review

5 Pages 1159 Words

Ridicule is an expertly crafted film which brings to life the inner workings of the Court of Louis XVI, where we are told, “wit was king.” It is set in the court of Versailles in 1783, six years before the outbreak of the French revolution. At the heart of the story, wit is a metaphor for the shallow, wasteful, mean and self-indulgent court created by King Louis XVI. As wit is explained, analyzed, demonstrated, and prized by the courtiers, so the true nature of the Court is revealed to us until the institution itself is unmasked and laid bare to ridicule. But all of this evolves seamlessly via a simple tale of love, honor and redemption brought to us by talented actors and absolutely brilliant dialogue.

Ponceludon de Malavoy played by Charles Berling arrives at Versailles as a kind, naïve, poor aristocrat to plead his case to save his homeland in the south of France. It is a swamp where peasants are dying from mosquito-carried fever. He needs money to build dikes and canals to reclaim the land and make a better life for the peasants. The words, “rotten trees bear no fruit” echo in his mind as he goes to Versailles, but he is determined. Even though he has a title and is a landowner, he is entering a different and dangerous world of the court, unlike the France that he knows. It is a place where “vices are without consequences…”

Once at Versailles, Ponceludon is seduced by the luxury of the court and the extravagant lifestyles of the aristocracy. By chance he acquires a savvy and kind mentor, Dr. Bellegarde, who teaches him the wiles and ways of the court. Ponceludon learns that it is through his wit, not his knowledge of his project or his engineering skills, that he can gain favor and, if he plays his cards right, get an audience with the King, who is the only one who can help him. So he uses his quick mind to play the high-stakes game of wit. Along the way, he falls prey to the seduction, deception ...