Laconte has brought us bizarre little films such as Monsieur Hire and The Hairdresser's Husband. Last year Ridicule, the story of a provincial yet quick-witted do-gooder in 18th-century Versailles, earned him the French equivalent to the Oscar for Best Director. Despite a fairly tame plotline, the movie succeeds on the strength of its theme: the currency of wit and wordplay in a world that has forgotten about accomplishment.

Harold Check