Marquis

As unique a history lesson as ever offered by the cinema, MARQUIS employs mimes in elaborate animal masks (voices dubbed by other actors) to play out the drama of the French Revolution, framed by the misunderstood philosophy of the Marquis de Sade. In this sex-and-violence puppet pageant, he's a dupe of religious and political hypocrites willing to destroy him because of his usefulness as a scapegoat. Despite its evident peculiarities, the film never fails to fascinate, as the animal representations of historical personages transform moldy history into vivid fable.

While languishing in jail, the canine Marquis de Sade (Francois Marthouret) jots down his sexual...