Ridicule__A_Movie_Review

Ridicule: A Movie Review 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 wit, court, ponceludon, one, ridicule, king, versailles, mathilde, louis, courtiers, xvi, words, women, way, right, revolution, played, place, money, language, french, even, better, before, about, years, wonder, wing, whose, while, vilecourt, two, true, times, swamp