La fille de d'Artagnan

Bertrand Tavernier has turned to the past many times before in his long career. He has no trouble telling a story with period costumes and swirling swordfights. La fille de D'Artagnan is a lot of fun for the first sixty minutes or so, then the lack of any great imagination in the plot construction starts to be apparent. There seems to be a coded message in a letter stolen from a convent that occupies the minds and energies of many of the characters to the detriment of telling the story.

Philippe Noiret is great, but the part is so easy for him. Sophie Marceau gets to show off her splendid breasts. Jean-Luc Bideau as Athos is perhaps the most watchable actor in the proceedings; he looks really dapper in that eyeband. If you want a really fine film about pre-Revolutionary France, try Que la fête commence, which has Noiret in one of his best roles.

This movie must have been at its best at the concept stage. It seems to be a patriotic attempt to remake Lester's Three Musketeers as a French film. The actors are good, and Sophie Marceau is lovely, but Tavernier has no clue how to make an action film. The story rambles incoherently, the pacing is awful, even the action scenes lack tension, and the jokes fall flat. In this genre, DeBroca's Le Bossu is far superior. For a good film with Sophie Marceau, see Police.

Yes, wit. Some fun with a slice of history (Tavernier is no fool, specially talking about history, Lyonnaise cuisine and music (do you remember the beautiful, poignant and above five stars 'Round midnight...yes, I like most of Bertrand Tavernier's films). This time he take us on a trip to the Dumas territory, the same way he did the trick with Dale Turner (Dexter Gordon in 'Round midnight), but this time it's just for a happy roller coaster. Great in the acting department and using kid gloves to handle the plot as the old masters used to. If you want to have a break of all the "fast and furious" of nowadays cinema check this one.

A fun French comedy/adventure flick which resurrects the "Three Musketeers" and creates a beautiful daughter, Eloise, (Marceau) for an aging, portly D'Artagnan. The plot is a tad convoluted with subtitles which use some archaic English and nonstop dialogue making the story a bit of a challenge for non-French speakers to keep up with. Nonetheless, the 2+ hour run is full of swashbuckling adventures, funny antics, comedic dialogue, and the beautiful European countryside with misty moors, autumn forests, castles and all those things we love about Euro-period films.

As I began to view this film, I had quite a few doubts. Recent "Musketeers" films have been falling flat. I am now very pleased to say that "Revenge of the Musketeers" (U.S. video title) is a solid production, featuring an excellent European cast and fine direction.

Set in the twilight years of the musketeers, the plot focuses on Eloise d'Artagnan (Marceau) and her struggle against perceived plots and conspiracies. When her convent is assaulted, she seeks out her famous father in Paris. There are some comedic moments and decent fight scenes. I was especially pleased to note that Eloise, who was raised in a convent and had no martial training, did not suddenly gain the magnificent fighting prowess of her father. Yes, she does get involved in a number of fights, but the director had the sense to clearly portray her absolute inexperience. Fans of Musketeers films and of swashbucklers in general should give this film a chance. Merely seeing a competent Musketeer film done in the French language alone is a treat.