Albert Delpy, Bernard Dheran, Bernard Giraudeau, Bruno Zanardi, Carlo Brandt ...( see more  see more... ) , Charles Berling , Fanny Ardant , Jacques Mathou , Jacques Roman , Jacques-Francois Zeller , Jean Rochefort , Judith Godrèche , Marie Pillet , Maurice Chevit , Philippe Magnan , Urbain Cancelier

This is a French costume drama from director Patrice Leconte that recalls both Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and Restoration (1995). Gregoire Ponceludon de Malavoy (Charles Berling) is a baron of the 18th...( read more  read more... ) century French countryside, wealthy in property and high in social position but poor in cash. Local peasants -- dependent upon his largesse for their income -- are in poor health, the result of a festering marsh that, if drained, could solve the villagers' illnesses and create valuable farmland. Ponceludon travels to Versailles to plead his case before King Louis XVI. There, he is informed that he has no chance of success unless he can impress the court with his verbal prowess, for the king and his minions value banter, preferably of the ironic, cruel, and insulting variety, above all else. Under the tutelage of the Marquis de Bellegarde (Jean Rochefort), Ponceludon discovers that his sober, blunt honesty can be mistaken for a skewering wit. Though the baron falls for his mentor's science-minded daughter Mathilde (Judith Godreche), he's forced to woo the politically powerful Madame de Blayac (Fanny Ardant). Ridicule (1996) opened the 1996 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

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84% liked it

3,581 ratings

Critics

75% liked it

16 critics

R, 1 hr. 42 min.

Directed by: Patrice Leconte

Release Date: November 29, 1996

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DVD Release Date: January 13, 2004

Stats: 184 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (184)


  • February 19, 2009
    It was interesting to see a film about Versailles actually in FRENCH, not the warmed-over English versions that are so common. Interesting look at the priorities of the nobility. Overall worth your while if pre-revolutionary France is your thing.
  • May 2, 2006
    This is not that bad, but somehow, i didn't enjoy it as much as i should have considering the director and the cast. I always felt like there was something missing. I'll give it another go one of these days, maybe i'll see it in a diferent light.
  • December 22, 2008
    No thankyou - Not interested.
  • September 10, 2008
    want to see this because it won best foreign film with NBR and best Foreign film from BAFTA
  • June 28, 2008
    Moraki mou said it was like Moliere
  • November 17, 2007
    LOVED EVERY SECOND OF THIS MOVIE!
  • July 3, 2007
    This mvoie was very very odd...I only saw the ending though.
  • June 13, 2007
    A pretty good and accurate movie. The beginning is a little harsh though.
  • April 19, 2007
    Fanny Ardant interprète peut-être à merveille la comtesse de Blayac, il n'en demeure pas moins que j'ai été un peu déçu par ce film que l'on me vantait depuis des lustres. Leconte dépeint les moeurs et les habitudes bourgeoises de manière assez cocasse et nous offre une assez rid...( read more)icule conception de l'aristocratie. Enfin, peut-être est-ce moi qui en a déjà trop entendu parler avec Molière, Rousseau, Voltaire & cie... Sinon, les dialogues sont merveilleusement bien écrits.
  • April 5, 2007
    I love Fanny Ardant...she is beautiful and plays an evil seductress very well! The rest of the movie was pretty good, witty but subtitled. Nice costuming, good examples of pre-Revolutionary French mens wear.

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Ridicule Trivia


  • What do you call the people who create questions to ridicule the people who make a mistake with a movie question?  Answer »
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