Fanfan la Tulipe

Well well well, first impression: the room was quite empty for an opening day! That does not sound great for the Box Office...

And the movie: Let's say it's entertaining. For Sure. But that's all! Vincent Perez (Fanfan) is too annoying playing the naive guy. Penelope Cruz.. annoying speaking french with such an accent "Fangfang" Hopefully the supporting actors are great! Didier Bourdon is a Wonderfull Roi Soleil... and the actor who plays "de la Goule" is WON-DER-FULL!!

So in fact: let's say: 1* on 4 If you have 8 euros in your pocket for nothing..otherwise..wait to see it on TV.

This new version of a favorite classic was a great swashbuckler - lots of romance, lots of adventure and excitement galore. Vincent Perez was handsome and energetic... a perfect romantic hero. Penelope Cruz was beautiful and feisty - a perfect romantic heroine. The crowd in the cinema was especially enthusiastic when we went -some viewers we know went to see it several times. The period costumes were wonderful, and certainly the equal of earlier versions. The photography was also well done - the French countryside has never looked so wonderful! Knowledge of French is definitely helpful, as the jokes might be lost on those who don't truly understand the language.

Loved it so much I bought it!

I have not seen the original of this film, but this version was O.K., purely regarding its entertainment value (intellectual stimulation aside). Perez is charming as Fanfan although Cruz's rather strong Spanish accent annoys me. All in all, not a bad attempt although I must not admit to understanding everything , as I saw it in French and history is not my forte...

Behind this film we see the French Touch of Luc Besson, the producer. It is not a great film, but you'll spend a good time. Penelope Cruz is beautiful as usual and Vincent Perez is wonderful. He is climbing up the stairs, and this film will help him over the seas. FANFAN is one of these new french films, like LEON, THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLVES,THE FIFTH ELEMENT. It is like an Hollywood film with an Hollywood star (Penelope Cruz, Mark Dacascos, Bruce Willis), It is pleasant like an Hollywood movie, and you are not more cleaver after seeing these. So it shows that Hollywood is not the only place to makes movies (very good or very bad) in the world, and that directors are not obliged to show many times american banner in their movies and, of course, that heroes sometimes live anywhere but between NY and LA.

I lived in France, speak French fluently and have a great appreciation for French humour. This movie sucked big time and was a great disappointment for me. My sister and I watched 45 minutes of it and walked out because we were both extremely bored. We managed to stay that long because we kept waiting for each other to say something first. The script is very poorly written and Fanfan is really annoying. I could not take another minute of Le Marquis screaming "Oh la nuque!". This is the first time I have ever walked out of the theater in the middle of a movie. This is how bad this movie was. Cruz must have been going through financial trouble for accepting the role. If you though that Le fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain deserved an A+ (which I did), this one deserved an F-.