RIDICULE European Union Film Showcase

“Wit opens the door to the company of
lords”-that was the humbling hoop
through which French nobles had to jump
to get the attention of their capricious king
and, in movie parlance, “pitch” their projects.
In this searing depiction of the
largesse of the court of Louis XVI, Charles
Berling stars as Gregoire Ponceludon, a
good-hearted noble whose land is mired
in swamp …. [H]e designs a series of dams
and reservoirs that will restore the health
to his waters …. No mere stolid man of science,
Ponceludon possesses a playful wit,
but one that finds its wellspring in compassion
and kindness. It is a gift that fits
him half-well at the king’s court.
Ponceludon’s benevolent, earnest nature,
not surprisingly, earns him the immediate
disdain of the court, particularly from a
slithery wordsmith, the abbot of
Vilecourt … Further complicating the path
is … dazzling but duplicitous Madame de
Blayac, through whose bed one must proceed
to reach the king’s ear. -Duane
Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter. Ridicule is
Duane Byrge’s Critic’s Choice.