Vintage Poster
Ridiculous
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Discover this splendid Poster for the Film Ridicule by Patrice Leconte, a cult work of cinema which won more than 4 Césars.
- Paper characteristic:
- 🎨 Canvas: world standard in terms of printing and imitating a “painting canvas” appearance .
- By default, the poster contains a 4 cm white border for framing (frame not included). If you don't want it, please choose "without white border".
- ✅ Size: several choices available . ✅
- Great UV resistance .
- Maximum color vibrancy, without reflections .
- Recycled paper, guaranteeing respect for the environment.
- Poster carefully packaged and delivered in a protective tube for total protection .
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⚠️ Frame not included. ⚠️
Ridicule is a 1996 French film, directed by Patrice Leconte, starring Charles Berling, Jean Rochefort, Fanny Ardant and Judith Godrèche. The film is set in the 18th century at the decadent court of Versailles, where social status can rise or fall based on a person's ability to dish out witty insults and avoid making a fool of themselves. The film's plot examines the social injustices of late 18th-century France, showing the corruption and callousness of the aristocrats.
In Dombes, a marshy region north of Lyon, Baron Grégoire Ponceludon de Malavoy is a small aristocrat and engineer. He is one of the rare aristocrats to be concerned about the fate of peasants. Horrified by the illness and death caused by the mosquitoes that infest the marshes, he wishes to drain them; he went to Versailles in the hope of obtaining the approval of King Louis XVI. Just before arriving at Versailles, Ponceludon is robbed and beaten. He is found by the Marquis de Bellegarde, a minor nobleman and doctor. While Ponceludon is recovering with the Marquis, Bellegarde takes him under his wing and teaches him the mind, the main way to find a place at court. At first, Ponceludon's provincial environment made him a target at parties and meetings, even if he proved to be a formidable opponent in verbal jousts.
During one of these parties, he surprised the Abbot of Vilecourt cheating at a game of wits, with the help of his lover, Madame de Blayac, the beautiful and rich recent widow of Monsieur de Blayac, who was to be Ponceludon's godfather at court. Blayac thanks him for his generosity in not exposing them and in organizing the certification of his lineage, thus allowing his trial to continue. Despite his success, Ponceludon begins to see that the court of Versailles is corrupt and empty.
The only exception is Mathilde de Bellegarde, the doctor's daughter. She agreed to marry Monsieur de Montaliéri, a rich and old aristocrat whose wife is dying. His motivation is twofold: to support his scientific experiments and to help pay off his father's debts. Ponceludon begins to help him in his experiments. Montaliéri observes their growing attraction to each other. Later, Montaliéri tells Ponceludon that he should wait, as he will probably not live very long, and Mathilde would be a rich widow. Even though Mathilde admits that she dreads her upcoming marriage, Ponceludon does not want her to become the wife of a poor man.
One day, a deaf-mute named Paul runs through the woods wearing Mathilde's diving suit and scares Madame de Blayac. Blayac asks Bellegarde to fire him. Bellegarde sends the boy to the Abbé de l'Épée, a pioneer educator of the deaf. Mathilde visits Madame de Blayac and unsuccessfully pleads for Paul. Madame de Blayac senses a rival for Ponceludon. Meanwhile, Vilecourt is worried about Ponceludon's success and Madame de Blayac promises to bring him down. Madame de Blayac traps Ponceludon during a dinner (with her accomplice Montaliéri) where one guest too many has been invited. A contest of wits makes it possible to decide who must make a humiliating departure. Distracted by Blayac, Ponceludon loses and is convinced that his disgrace will force him to leave the court. However, he remembers the reason for his departure when a village child dies after drinking contaminated water. Meanwhile, Mathilde appears at court, breaking the terms of her betrothal contract.
Vilecourt eventually gains an audience with the king, but blunders by accidentally blaspheming God in an attempt to be witty, and Blayac turns his attention to Ponceludon, convincing him to return to Versailles. He sleeps with her in exchange for her help; she arranges a meeting with the king. She maliciously has Bellegarde assist her in her capacity as doctor while Ponceludon is still with her, so that Mathilde learns of their relationship.
During a presentation at court about Abbot de l'Épée's work with the deaf and the development of sign language, the nobles mercilessly mock the deaf. However, some nobles change their minds when the deaf demonstrate their own form of wit: sign language puns. In response, de Bellegarde stands up and asks how one signs "bravo", causing Ponceludon to stand up and clap to show his support. Mathilde is touched, and they quickly reconcile.
Ponceludon joined the king's entourage and, after showing his engineering prowess by proposing an improvement to a cannon, he obtained a private meeting with the king to discuss his project. The embarrassed gunner then insults Ponceludon, forcing him to demand a duel. Madame de Blayac fails to persuade him to avoid the duel. He kills the gunner and learns that the king cannot meet someone who killed one of his officers right after his death, although he is assured that it was right to defend his honor.
Madame de Blayac is furious when she learns that Ponceludon has left her for Mathilde and is preparing her revenge. Ponceludon is invited to a costume ball “reserved for spirits”. Arriving at the ball with Mathilde, he is pushed to dance with Blayac and trips. His spectacular fall earned him the derisive nickname of "Marquis of the Antipodes" by Milletail. Ponceludon tears off his mask and condemns their decadence. He tells them that they rank among the Voltaires because of their wit, but that they do not have Voltaire's compassion. He swears to drain the swamp by himself and leaves the court with Mathilde. Madame de Blayac removes her mask and cries silently.
In 1794, in Dover, England, Bellegarde fled the French Revolution. The text on the screen indicates that Grégoire and Mathilde Ponceludon have succeeded in drying up the Dombes and are living in revolutionary France.
