Ridicule - On the ridiculousness of appearances

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Movie
German title Ridicule - On the ridiculousness of appearances
Original title Ridicule
Country of production France
original language French
Publishing year 1996
length 102 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Patrice Leconte
script Rémi Waterhouse ,
Jean-Claude Carrière ,
Peter Brook ,
Marie Hélène Estienne
production Frédéric Brillion ,
Philippe Carcassonne ,
Gilles Legrand
music Antoine Duhamel
camera Thierry Arbogast
cut Joëlle Hache
occupation
synchronization

Ridicule - From the ridiculousness of appearances (Original title: Ridicule ) is an award-winning French period film by Patrice Leconte from 1996 about the decadent life at the late absolutist court of the French King Louis XVI.

action

Around 1780, the young country nobleman, Marquis Ponceludon de Malavoy, owned an estate in the eastern French region of Dombes , which was located in the middle of a swampy landscape. Mosquitoes plague the population. Their lives are poor, with many dying from diseases at a young age. As one of the few aristocrats who are concerned about the well-being of the peasants in the spirit of the Enlightenment , Ponceludon travels to Versailles to meet King Louis XVI. to request permission and financial support for the drainage of the swamps. But he can only expect an audience if he can make himself popular at court with wit and witty speech. In the aristocratic Versailles aristocratic milieu, shrewd esprit and, along with this, exposing others to ridicule are considered high art, as is intrigue.

The noble doctor Marquis de Bellegarde takes care of the provincial after he fell victim to a highwayman in the vicinity of Versailles and was injured in the process. Bellegarde then takes Ponceludon under his wing and explains to him what is important when dealing with court society. Ponceludon learns quickly and knows how to assert himself with amusing bon mots . On one occasion he succeeds in convicting the insidious Abbé de Vilecourt of cheating with a play on words. Although Ponceludon falls in love with Bellegarde's inquisitive daughter Mathilde, he gets involved in an affair with the seductive lady-in-waiting Madame de Blayac, who has only recently become a wealthy widow. With their influence he promises to finally be able to speak to the king about his concerns.

When a private meeting with the king is in prospect, Ponceludon intervenes in a duel with an artillery officer who feels offended by him in his honor and in turn insults Ponceludon with a remark. After Ponceludon won the duel and shot the king's officer, Louis XVI wanted him. not received for the time being. Ponceludon then leaves Madame de Blayac to start a new life with Mathilde. Madame de Blayac feels deeply offended by this rejection and plans a revenge. She invites Ponceludon and Mathilde to a masked ball. When Madame de Blayac dances with Ponceludon, this is tripped as planned, so that he falls spectacularly to the ground. All the guests, except for Mathilde and Madame de Blayac, laugh at him and let their sharp tongues run free. Before Ponceludon leaves the hall humiliated, he skillfully expresses his contempt for the decadent court life. All those present are silent for a brief moment. After he and Mathilde leave, the guests dance as if nothing had happened. Only Madame de Blayac stands in the room with tears in her eyes, as if lost.

It was only after the French Revolution of 1789 that Ponceludon and Mathilde, as simple, progressive citizens, succeed in draining the swamps and making new arable land available to the farmers.

background

Vaux-le-Vicomte Castle, where the film was set

The shooting took place from August 21 to November 24, 1995 in Paris and Versailles , among other places . The French castles were used as locations Vaux-le-Vicomte in Seine-et-Marne and Maisons-Laffitte in Yvelines , where already numerous films, including the costume drama Dangerous Liaisons ( Dangerous Liaisons , 1988), were staged. Ivan Maussion was responsible for the production design , the costumes were designed by Christian Gasc .

Ridicule - The Ridiculousness of Appearance was the opening film of the Cannes International Film Festival in 1996 and subsequently received numerous film awards, including four trophies from the prestigious French César film award . The film was also presented to the public at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Chicago International Film Festival . It has been seen by more than two million people in French cinemas. Worldwide he was able to bring in around 20 million dollars. In Germany it was shown in cinemas for the first time on April 3, 1997 and released on DVD in 2006 with a making-of .

Reviews

The lexicon of international films described Ridicule - On the ridiculousness of appearances as a "sparkling historical satire that combines a critical analysis of 'bel esprit' with opulent images, but maintains historical distance and tries to decipher social behavior in an insightful way". The result was also a “powerful, intelligent painting of the times and morals that reveals the anatomy of a society based on appearance”.

Der Spiegel spoke of “a lush and current portrait of the time”. Prisma wrote that director Patrice Leconte staged "fascinatingly photographed backlit shots [...] an opulent costume film with a high level of authenticity". With “[b] impressive images” and “wonderful dialogues full of linguistic wit and tongue-in-cheek joie de vivre”, the film turned into “a cinematic feast for the senses”. For TV Movie , Lecontes film was a "history lesson with wit and esprit".

"The actors, especially Fanny Ardant, are exquisite," said France Soir . Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times compared Ridicule - On the Ridiculousness of Appearance with the "equally fascinating" period film Restoration - A Time of Sensuality , published a year earlier . The fascinating thing about Leconte's film is that “so much depends on the language, but very little is actually said”. Janet Maslin of the New York Times described the film as an "artful and slightly smug costume drama" in which Leconte made it clear "skillfully and with elegant malevolence" that it was not a comedy. According to Variety , the film succeeds in “a splendid and intelligent way of achieving a consistently winning balance between humor and heart”.

Awards

Director Patrice Leconte

César

Won
Nominated

Further

German version

Since the film in the French original is mainly characterized by its polished dialogues and puns, the German distributor was keen to achieve a suitable synchronization . For this purpose, Katharina and Hans Magnus Enzensberger were hired to translate the French dialogues and based on their dialog book the German dubbing.

role actor Voice actor
Marquis Grégoire Ponceludon de Malavoy Charles Berling Joachim Tennstedt
Marquis de Bellegarde Jean Rochefort Jürgen Thormann
Madame de Blayac Fanny Ardant Kerstin Sanders-Dornseif
Mathilde de Bellegarde Judith Godrèche Nana Spier
Abbot de Vilecourt Bernard Giraudeau Bodo Wolf
Louis XVI Urbain Cancelier Roland Hemmo

Soundtrack

  • Antoine Duhamel : Ridicule . Decca 1997, a CD with 19 recordings of the film music.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. jpbox-office.com
  2. ↑ Ridicule - On the ridiculousness of appearances. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ↑ Ridicule - on the ridiculousness of appearances . In: Der Spiegel , March 31, 1997.
  4. ↑ cf. prisma.de
  5. ↑ cf. tvmovie.de
  6. ^ "Les acteurs, Fanny Ardant en tête, sont exquis." France Soir , May 5, 1996, cf. allocine.fr
  7. ^ “ Ridicule reminded me of the equally fascinating Restoration (1995) […]. What is fascinating about Ridicule is that so much depends on language, and so little is really said. ” Roger Ebert : Ridicule . In: Chicago Sun-Times , September 6, 1996.
  8. ↑ "Artfully, and with an elegant malevolence that suits this ornate and quietly sardonic costume drama, Mr. Leconte makes it clear that this is no laughing matter." Janet Maslin : Ridicule (1996) . In: The New York Times , November 27, 1996.
  9. ^ "Resplendent and intelligent from start to finish, Ridicule strikes a winning balance between humor and heart." See review: 'Ridicule'  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Variety , 1996.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.variety.com  
  10. ↑ Ridicule - On the ridiculousness of appearances. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 2, 2017 .