Film Review
Following their immense success with
Le Mystère de la chambre jaune
(2003), the Podalydès brothers return with a second generous
helping of offbeat murder mystery featuring the amateur sleuth
Rouletabille and his comical sidekick Sinclair. Based on
another convoluted novel by Gaston Leroux,
Le Parfum de la dame en noir is a
slick production featuring a prestigious cast, but its main attraction
is its exuberant humour, which owes a great deal to the
Tintin stories of
Hergé. Indeed, there is hardly a character in the film who
does not look like he or she has fallen from the pages of a Tintin
comic book. Professeur Tournesol appears in the guise of the
hapless inventor of a leaky solar-powered submarine, Olivier Gourmet
does a good impression of Captain Haddock, and Sinclair is obviously
Tintin's resourceful little dog Milou. Writer-director Bruno Podalydès
clearly has something of a fixation with the quiff-headed boy journalist.
Le Parfum de la dame en noir
has far less plot and slightly more silliness than
Le Mystère de la chambre jaune
but this doesn't prevent it from being any less enjoyable. Sabine
Azéma's glorious histrionic outbursts are as hilarious as
Michael Lonsdale's dead-pan impression of an impressionist painter and
make up for Denis Podalydès's bland characterisation of
Routeabille, who looks increasingly like the only sane man in a lunatic
asylum as the film progresses (Podalydès is certainly much too old
to play the part convincingly). The film's supremely
elegant design (redolent of a BBC adaptation of an Agatha Christie
story) complements its zany humour and O.T.T. performances, making this
an appealing, albeit somewhat messy, murder mystery romp.
© James Travers 2008
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Next Bruno Podalydès film:
Bancs publics (Versailles rive droite) (2009)
Film Synopsis
Joseph Rouletabille is haunted by the memory of a woman who used to
visit him when he was at boarding school many years ago. He can
still recall the fragrance of the perfume she used to wear and is
convinced that this strange woman has some close connection with
him. Before he can resolve this mystery, Rouletabille learns that
his friend Mathilde Stangerson is in danger and rushes to her aid with
his loyal friend Sinclair. Mathilde has just married her fiancé
Robert Darzac and the couple are enjoying their honeymoon in the
company of some friends in the south of France.
Rouletabille is incredulous when Mathilde claims to have caught a
glimpse of her mortal enemy Larsan, better known as the illusionist
Ballmeyer. The world knows that Larsan is dead,
having died on stage when one of his escapology acts went horribly
wrong. If Larsan is alive then Mathilde has good reason to be
afraid. Little does she know that he is much closer to her than
she realises...
© James Travers
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