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The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec
| Released |
22 April 2011 |
| Director |
Luc Besson |
Starring
|
Louise Bourgoin, Mathieu Almaric, Gilles Lellouche, Jean-Paul Rouve, Jacky Nercessian, Philippe Nahn |
| Writer(s) |
Luc Besson |
| Producer(s) |
Virginie Silla |
| Origin |
France |
| Running Time |
107 minutes |
| Genre |
Action, adventure, fantasy |
| Rating |
15A |
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Paris is gurning.
For better or worse, Luc Besson has always had one eye on Hollywood and the other on France. His best known films, the day-glo Eurovision/sci-fi mash-up The Fifth Element and stylish breakthrough Leon, show the varying success rates of his schizophrenic style but regardless, he has made a name for himself as a visually interesting and kinetic director.
His latest work The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, comes as a bit of a shock. This whimsical comedy is like the work of another man; specifically of Jean-Pierre Jeunet. It may seem a little lazy, but the parallels between Adele Blanc-Sec and the widely loved Amélie are unavoidable. The similarities start with the sonorous voice over that introduces the characters and continue in the beautifully rendered Parisian backdrop, the charming but adventurous heroine and the cast of moustachioed grotesques that surround her. Consequently, how you feel about Besson’s film will depend on your tolerance for this particular brand of French fancy. For my own tastes, I found the whole thing quite annoying and far from amusing. There is too much slapstick, too much whimsy and definitely too much gurning!
Having said that, thanks to Besson’s taste for the dramatic, Adele Blanc-Sec at least has the courage of its fantastical convictions. While Amélie has a gentle surrealism, Adele Blanc-Sec thunders head-long into fantasy. In the first ten minutes we are treated to the sight of a pterodactyl attacking a car on the streets of (a beautifully re-created) turn of the century Paris. The winged dinosaur has been brought to life by an eccentric scientist (Mathieu Amalric, unrecognisable beneath layers of prosthetics) who has discovered the secrets of life after death. Our heroine, a journalist and adventurer (Louise Bourgoin), hopes to harness this power to save the life of her comatose sister by resurrecting an ancient Egyptian doctor.
Though the style and narrative grated on me, there were some positives to lift my mood. The CGI is well executed, from the dinosaurs and mummies to the more subtle but painstaking rendering of old Paris. The highlight though is undoubtedly Bourgoin. She makes a beguiling heroine who, despite her beauty, brings an almost tom-boy quality to her physical performance. Amongst all the silliness, she rings clear as the one true note of the film. Ultimately though, there is more froth than substance and if you’re not a Jeunet devotee, Adele Blanc-Sec should be approached with caution.
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Linda O’Brien |
