Arsène Lupin

"Arsen Lupin" and "Immortel" were among the films that i went to see during the French Film festival in Belgrade. While i immortel left a good impression on me Arsen Lupin got me and a couple of my friends laughing. Here's why: First of all, "The Adventures of Arsen Lupin" are a series of books which tell a story of a Gentleman Thief in the 19th century. The books are enjoyable if you are a fan of romantic-adventure novels.

The film tries to squeeze a few of these books into a whole. This was in my opinion a mistake from the start. The film starts unwinding at about the 1 hour mark and keeps unwinding for another hour, meaning that its ending for a whole hour. The scenes quickly jump from one thing to another not explaining the who or why, characters come and go, places, things, details... After an hour or so you can't even remember what happened 2 minutes ago and frankly you stop caring since the plot makes 360 degree turns every frame. Instead you catch yourself enjoying the unbelievable plot twists and the speed at which they unfold in a bad way, I had the whole cinema laughing throughout the second part of the film. All the characters are switched around, so in the end his father is trying to kill him (WHY?!), oh yeah and he is searching for this treasure which is shown by placing certain crosses together.

Also he seems to be in love with a witch/devil character who tries to use him but doesn't, then does and so on... Another comic character was the witch's henchman who had a metal plate covering half of his face, his role is also unclear. The costumes and scenery are very well done but they don't do much to fix the script, editing and awful directing. The first half of the film starts out slow and slightly boring but the second half is fast, confusing and outright funny. I loved laughing my head off at the unbelievable plot twists in the second half of the film. Otherwise its not worth seeing this film.

... or whatever the French equivalent would be ("mec, que est-ce qu'ils ont pense quand ils ont cree cette film?"). I was actually in Paris when this premiered. It's like six stories in one, and every time you think it ends, it just keeps on going on. We even get Knights Templar thrown in at what we think is the end, but then we move on to historic events.

The idea is great -- the gentleman thief. It's just over-over-over explained. Cinematography is quite good -- nice look and feel for old Paris. However, editing leaves something to be desired. And yes, Kristen Scott Thomas speaks very good French (well, actually, I'm not one to really judge -- sounded good to me). A nice effort that could have been a truly entertaining film if not written by a team of seven writers not in communication with each other (or so it seemed).

And one last thing -- the thief thing is a little ridiculous. The guy goes into a room, women are wearing enormous ostentatious necklaces and earrings, and they never notice him basically ripping these off of them. I think there was some sort of sensory deprivation problem back then (perhaps "touch" hadn't yet been discovered), so that might have made it easier for our pal Arsene. Otherwise, I have no explanation.

So, if you want to see a recent French film with good production value and practice your French, enjoy. If you want to see a good French film, there are many many other films more worth your time.

Romain Duris, the little schoolboy from l'Auberge Espagnole, in the skin of the "Gentleman Cambrioleur" is a little more than I could take. I could not recognize the man from "L'Aiguille Creuse", "Le Mystérieux Voyageur", "Le Collier De La Reine" and "La Comtesse De Cagliostro" which are the stories mixed in together in the movie. Some characters are reinvented or mixed in with different concepts which are too much to swallow. Why not sticking to the story if you're not going to make t better?

There is however good playing, Kristin Scott Thomas is awesome as the countess. And even though Arsene lacks the class and style one is entitled to expect, Romain Duris have some very good moments.

Based on the early years of the French classy hero, this movie provides all the fun you can expect from a classical adventure movie. Fights, Stunts, exotic places, wicked villains, and characters you will love to hate or chill for ! It was a good surprise to me, because I am not a great fan of Pitoff.

Romain Duris and Kristin Scott Thomas (especially her !) deliver a very good performance and Eva Green (i didn't know her before this movie) is really charming as Arsene Lupin youth love. One thing i enjoyed as well is the visual reconstitution of 19th century Paris, which is really impressive when you live there.

Good entertainment !

I watched "Arsène Lupin" a few months ago, and I am very astonished when I read some opinions here. This movie is... how can I say that ? simply bad ! For the first time of my life I was ready to take my coat and walk out after only 30 minutes. And what a pity ! Because they could play with one of the most popular French character, because it seems they had a big budget to make it (I mean for a French movie), and because they smashed almost everything. OK, Romain Duris was an excellent Arsene Lupin and I must applaud the set decoration and costume design work too. But that's it ! Special mentions for the worst film editing I've ever seen and for an overloaded storyline. Disappointing.

I. Adler