Having failed spectacularly in an over-zealous attempt to bring a fresh
re-interpretation of one icon of French popular culture in Belphégor - Le fantôme du
Louvre (2001), director Jean-Paul Salomé does exactly
the same with another, the celebrated fictional thief Arsène
Lupin. With its ludicrous plot (a totally chaotic melange of
action adventure and supernatural fantasy), absurd characterisation and
over-reliance on special effects, this charmless film bears absolutely
no resemblance to the wonderful Maurice Leblanc novels. Any
plus points the film has (set and costume design) are totally negated
by Salomé's stylistic excesses which make an already
convoluted narrative virtually unfathomable and sqaunder the talents of
some fine actors. Whilst Kristin Scott Thomas scores a partial
success as the film's main villain, Romain Duris appears absurd almost
from start to finish, mainly because he is compelled to portray Lupin
as a two-dimensional action hero, somewhere between Indiana Jones and
Superman. It's a tedious spectacle of CGI effects and gratuitous
Grand Guignol gore, whose appeal is limited to juveniles with an
unhealthy addiction to the kind of showy Hollywood blockbuster
adventure movie which this film tries so hard - in fact, too hard - to
emulate.
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Jean-Paul Salomé film: Les Femmes de l'ombre (2008)
Film Synopsis
In 19th century France, Arsène Lupin enjoys an idyllic childhood,
until his father, a notorious crook, meets a nasty end. Twenty years
later, Lupin is a celebrated gentleman thief, his creed being that he will
only steal from the rich and other criminals, and never by resorting to physical
violence. One day, he encounters the strangely alluring Countess Joséphine,
a supposed immortal who makes people her willing slaves through a special
drug. Lupin has no choice but to perform a crucial mission for her
- to recover three crucifixes which will reveal the location of a fabulous
lost treasure. Lupin's greatest adventure so far is about to commence...
Script: Jean-Paul Salomé, Laurent Vachaud, Maurice Leblanc (novel)
Cinematographer: Pascal Ridao
Music: Mathieu Chedid, Debbie Wiseman
Cast: Romain Duris (Arsène Lupin/Raoul d'Andrézy),
Kristin Scott Thomas (Joséphine, comtesse de Cagliostro),
Pascal Greggory (Beaumagnan),
Eva Green (Clarisse de Dreux-Soubise),
Robin Renucci (Duc de Dreux-Soubise),
Patrick Toomey (Léonard),
Mathieu Carrière (Duc d'Orléans),
Philippe Magnan (Bonnetot),
Philippe Lemaire (Cardinal d'Etigues),
Marie Bunel (Henriette Lupin)
Country: France
Language: French
Support: Color
Runtime: 131 min
The best of American film noir
In the 1940s, the shadowy, skewed visual style of 1920s German expressionism was taken up by directors of American thrillers and psychological dramas, creating that distinctive film noir look.
Franz Kafka's letters to his fiancée Felice Bauer not only reveal a soul in torment; they also give us a harrowing self-portrait of a man appalled by his own existence.
Continental Films, quality cinema under the Nazi Occupation
At the time of the Nazi Occupation of France during WWII, the German-run company Continental produced some of the finest films made in France in the 1940s.