Marquis

In this tribute to the Marquis de Sade, the original Mr Whippy of belles lettres is a dreamy-eyed spaniel who spends his time in the Bastille engaging in dispute with his winsome willy, an amiably philosophical member called Colin. French satirist and cartoonist Roland Topor designed and co-wrote this strange Revolutionary romp with Xhonneux. With the cast performing in half-animal, half-human panto drag, the film's principal novelty is to stage the events leading up to the fall of the Bastille as 'Carry On Beatrix Potter'. This the makers do very well, with disarmingly gruesome masks and atmospheric period decor. It's perhaps too burlesque to be disturbing, and there's a weary Gallic saltiness to the dream sequences. De Sade gets a rather easy ride, too, portrayed as content to scribble his sprawling libertine yarns rather than yield to Colin's priapic promptings. But it's a considerable oddity that manages to be witty, thoroughly obscene, and rather endearing all at once.