Review

With a barrage of pomp and circumstance and a pocketful of wit, this extravagant and delightful period piece follows the travails of an overly eager and naïvely optimistic young viscount, Ponceludon (Berling), who sets out for the court of Louis XVI to petition the king. He wants to build a series of canals and dikes to drain swamp land and restore health and prosperity to his serfs. Of course, upon his arrival at Versailles, he is regarded as nothing more than a country bumpkin and soon learns that the greatest currency in the palace is repartee. To achieve any hope of audience with the king, one must be a master of the rejoinder. He excels, of course, but this only brings the notice of Ardant, an influential countess whose friendship is as much a hazard as it is a help. Director Leconte is very much at home in the regalia of costume spectacle. (French with English subtitles)