Patrice Leconte has had a long and distinguished cinematic career, and continues to surprise audiences and critics alike with his choice of subject matter and exploration of different styles.
Ridicule, the opening film at this year's Cannes film festival, is Leconte's first period piece. It is set in Versailles at the end of the 17th century, during the reign of Louis XVI. Sedition and revolution are on the horizon, but the king's court goes serenely about its business.
The film focuses on the dynamics of power, court intrigues and the attempts to curry favour with the king. In the royal court's complacent atmosphere, astute and calculating men can easily climb to the pinnacle of power. Intelligence and spirit are more valuable commodities than high birth or money.
For Ridicule, though, historical accuracy is not the director's overriding concern. "Some things never change down the ages; one of them is human nature," he says. "That's what I'm most interested in when I'm making films." Valerie Ganne
Prods: Gilles Legrand, Frederic Brillion, Philippe Carcassonne
Dir: Patrice Leconte
Scr: Remi Waterhouse
Ph: Thierry Arbogast
Cast: Fanny Ardant, Charles Berling, Bernard Giraudeau, Judith Godreche, Jean Rochefort
Running time: 102 mins
Screenings: Thursday 14 November, 16.00 and 21.00, Odeon West End 2
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