Tintin et le mystère de la Toison d'Or

This is the sort of children's story - and yeah, okay, father's story too - that you can sit and watch with the kids time and again. The music especially is truly memorable. We love this film and now my kids are showing it to their friends and they love it too.

This relatively little known French live action film from 1961 was the first time that Tintin (the famous boy reporter created by Belgian cartoonist Herge) was brought to the silver screen. It is also probably the best, certainly capturing better Tintin's spirit than the recent Spielberg film. It obviously helped that Herge has creative input in this, unlike with other movies based on Tintin (though this was not based on any particular book but was rather an original story for the screen). The story has Captain Haddock unexpectedly inheriting a boat in Istanbul. When he goes there with Tintin to retrieve the boat, not only it turns out to be a rotting barge, but also there are a lot of baddies trying to pursue them and the boat. It soon becomes clear that the boat is involved with some treasure. Jean Pierre Talbot and Georges Wilson are perfect as Tintin and Haddock. And the attractive locations (Istanbul, Athens, Meteora in Greece) filmed with lush color certainly help a lot.

Don't judge the book by the cover, for all its B-movie look, this is A-entertainment.

"Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece" is a product of its era: released in 1961, it carries the old-fashioned allure of 50's adventurous pictures and let's say the more sophisticated tone of the 60's, yet not devoid of the same obsolescent charm that makes a James Bond girl "innocent" by our modern day's standards. The film has the thrills, the fun and the escapism magnificently rendered by the Turkish countryside, with the exotic little tune to enhance the feeling that we're enjoying a nice little vacation with Tintin and Captain Haddock.

Because that's what it's all about, it's a Tintin adventure and yet the enjoyment doesn't only depend on the appeal of the comic-books, in its own right, this is a good movie.

Now, some history… Tintin had already come to maturity in the early 60's but the big screen has always been a hit-or-miss, it was probably a credit to Herge's uniqueness of style and his trademark clear line to have created a world so naturally proficient in thrills and so emotionally engaging that even the camera of the 60's couldn't capture. Yes, even Steven Spielberg could only make a CGI version of the "Unicorn", perhaps one of the less 'cinematic' of all Tintin's books. That's how difficult the transition from book to screen is, and maybe the safest and wisest choice was to have an original story and compensate the 'newness' of the material with actors who'd look like shoot- outs of the original characters.

The originality of the story is the first masterstroke, it's an interesting whodunit set in Turkey and centering on a mysterious ship named "Golden Fleece" that Haddock inherited from a long-time friend. And despite the little predictable plot elements such as the evil businessman who seems to have a personal reason to buy the ship, the sneaky tourist guide, the colorful encounters, a talking parrot, a black cook, the story works not to mention that it also features two nice cameos from Charles Vanel and Dario Moreno. And we forgive the flaw because there's a sort of realism in the relationship between good old Tintin and Captain Haddock, both played by Jean- Pierre Talbot and George Wilson. Tintin leads the action with the impatience and curiosity of youth and Haddock is the eternal follower.

And that's it, the characters are alive again.

Herge said it himself, Tintin was some kind of a joke, he needed the blandest and most neutral looking hero, so he made a round, two dots for the eyes, and no hair color (meaning he was blonde) then just to give him a little edge with the little tuft. A legend was born, a perfect hero who was courageous, brave and embodied youth's thirst of adventure but with a sense of righteousness. The challenge to turn Tintin into a real character was twice, finding someone who'd match the facial features and making the hero heroic without being unrealistic. Needless to say that Talbot did a great job, but as he stated himself, he didn't have to try, he channeled Tintin naturally and you can tell when you see him that he was born to be Tintin.

Talbot was approached for his his physical abilities, he was such a complete athlete, he provided almost all the stunts (with a few exceptions) and you can see in his eyes during the fight scenes how focused he is, it's very interesting that his skills look less fake than many other actors who'd play James Bond. But if he's no Sean Connery, Talbot makes his Tintin believable and appealing and the cute Belgian accent reminds us where Tintin came from. Talbot didn't have to play Tintin, he happened to be like Tintin and that was the film's greatest blessing. He admitted later that Tintin was a good influence on his life, and always try to adopt a righteous approach in general and in his job, as a teacher.

Naturally, the film would have worked only half if Haddock didn't have a great actor to play Captain Haddock and it was George Wilson (from the French Academy), the father of actor Lambert, who played the iconic seaman. He chews the script enough to match the Captain's histrionic tantrums but in the quieter moments when he contemplates the death of his friend, gazing at his picture, there's a sort of poignancy that makes you forget you're watching a Tintin movie, it becomes the story of two friends caught in an adventure. There are also Thompson and Thompson and Calculus but really, this is a Tintin and Haddock (and Snowy) picture.

The film is far from being flawless but these supposedly flaws hold up quite well, and have aged better than many superior movies, there's nothing calculated in this film, it's innocent, non-cynical and ultimately, fun to watch, it's not an equivalent to Tintin comic but, it does justice to the legacy of the legendary Belgian reporter. And the two actors are too likable not to like this film.

A so-so storyline (not based on one of the Herge comic books) is the only thing that spoils this otherwise enthralling live-action adaptation of the TINTIN comics. It's probably the best-realised live-action version of any comic book I've seen, with characters who truly look the part and scenery and backdrops which could have come straight from Herge's pen.

The meandering storyline involves Tintin, Snowy, and Captain Haddock finding themselves in possession of a rusting and seemingly worthless old hulk. When a gang of criminals begin hunting them down, they soon realise the battered old ship has more to it than meets the eye, and to solve the mystery they embark on a globe-trotting adventure. The comedic parts of the narrative are the best bits while the rest of it can be a little stagey at times.

TINTIN AND THE GOLDEN FLEECE is delightfully old-fashioned in its approach and definitely tongue in cheek to boot. Jean-Pierre Talbot is pitch perfect as the titular character and Georges Loriot simply sublime as Professor Calculus. Georges Wilson is less assured as Captain Haddock - he looks and feels more like Popeye's Bluto - but at least he gives it his all. A bumbling cameo from the Thompson Twins is much welcome, but the real delight here is the dog playing Snowy. A more perfectly-trained and characterful creature you couldn't find, and the bit with him and the dynamite is the highlight of the entire movie.

I should know this movie fairly well, since it was a central object of scrutiny for my film major thesis. And I must say, being a Tintin devotee since the late seventies, I enjoyed this film quite a lot.

It's not a direct adaptation as such, since the story did not exist as a comic book prior to the shoot. The script was in fact specially conceived for this particular movie. Nevertheless, apart from a few more or less significant deviations from the Tintin norms - some of them necessary by way of making a film in its own right and not a live action comic book (the latter more true in the case of the sequel) - it's still very much a Tintin story. We have the same ingredients; the exotism, the heroism, the adventure... And the characters are being portrayed wonderfully. So, I give it 7 out of 10 points.

A must-see for all Tintin fans. If you can get your hands on a copy, that is.