writers_reign Leconte followed this with Une Chance sur deux as if to emphasise his versatility and mastery of all genres. On the one hand an ultra modern piece involving two over-the-hill iconic 'hard' men taking on the highly organized Drug Barons with all the car chases, technology and explosions that go with that territory and on the other the ultra sophisticated world of Versailles where the biggest crime is to utter a sentence that falls flat. Out of a premise that finds a Nobleman caring about the peasantry enough to journey to the Court and attempt to gain the ear of the King in order to win Royal investment to underwrite an engineering project to drain marshland Leconte has concocted a confection to delight both the eye and the ear in a world where the ultimate goal is neither money or sex but the perfect epigram. There are four principals and all shine and if Fanny Ardant and Jean Rochefort come out marginally ahead of Charles Berling and Judith Godreche well, she IS drop-dead gorgeous and he IS an all-round consummate Actor's Actor. Not for everyone but even here the usual excuse of not speaking French is flimsy given the excellent subtitles on the DVD. A soufflé prepared exclusively with Faberge eggs.

T Y Add my voice to those who like this fim and who find Fanny Ardent wonderful. But I think the transformation of Ponceledon du Malroy from someone I thought was at best awkward looking (or homely) to a refined and yes attractive man throroughly convincing. By the time he's finished I no longer considered him homely. The sub-titles of this movie are quite an achievement, managing at one point to rhyme, make the same point and deliver the punchline on the right beat - no small feat. It takes small hits over historical revisionism (uppity female nymphette-scientists?), and the re-use of a ruse mentioned in the early half of the film as the downfall of the protagonist.I don't understand a single reviewer who says the film is hysterical. I doubt you'll laugh out loud once. It's not that kind of movie. But it's pleasures are plentiful. And it's aimed squarely at adult viewers.

Terrell-4 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 love affair between Berling and his deep-diving sweetheart is amusing and endearing.The film is sumptuously mounted. 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.

juancalzetta A period piece drama, 'Ridicule' unfolds as a man (Le Marquis Grégoire Ponceludon de Malavoy - Charles Berling) tries to assist the desperate and dying people that struggle in the swamps of southern France. What ensues is an enthralling ascent up the ranks of the French court at Versailles by this clever countryman, once dismissed as a backward rustic, in an attempt to consult the kKng. The name of the game is wit. Aside from the malicious Abbot, the stuffy imbred aristrocrats can hardly keep up with the Malavoy's punishing tongue. Unfortunately, most of the invigorating wordplay of the script is lost in translation. Still, the film is comprehensible and the story holds, though the French is at times delicious. The women of the movie are well portrayed: a sinister Madame de Blayac intrigues, a lovely Mathilde de Bellegarde enchants. An 8, all in all. A good story, impressive production detail, persuasive historical recreation, solid script, honest photography. Serious where "Dangerous Liasons" was slight - the details. Plus, the lead women are meticulously rounded and the film's aftertaste speaks substance not sap-opera.