Vidocq

I've seen this movie through cable this afternoon. It was a real surprise. I admit I cannot get through the plot thoroughly since it was in French. But being a French movie is a real plus here. The story took place in 1830 France. The country was in disarray after repeated changes in government. The setting is dark and depressing. Everywhere you can see people are suffering. It's in their attitudes, their clothes, their environment. This is not something you will see in other movies of this period. Characters' movement are splendid, especially the Chinese/French woman whose name I forgot. Her movement makes this movie looks like art. I know that this movie is a horror film, but it's an artful horror. The plus side of being French is that it doesn't stick to the Hollywood-style horror. Its emphasis on emotions and audiences' feelings make this movie outstanding comparing to Hollywood's. Summay: This movie is definitely R (violence, nudity, I guess). So, it your are over 18, give it a try. You'll find it enjoyable even if you're not horror fan. However, if you dislike the genre, this one may not be powerful enough to change your mind.

I really wasn't ready to enjoy "Vidocq" having heard a friend of mine telling me he felt like throwing up in the middle of the movie, due to the peculiar camera angles and motion. But having some time to lose while waking up in front of TV, why not take a look?

And I was really taken in that old-Paris atmosphere, which I found strangely bewitching... I did not find the special FX better than in other big budget movies, but "different", finally something original, kind of an nightmarish, apocalyptic surrounding... The storyline had some nice parts to it, but we could have had more. Depardieu was pretty good, Dussollier as well, as opposed to a dreadful Guillaume Canet...

Overall, an interesting movie, with pluses and minuses, I was glad to see it but I won't buy the DVD.... 6/10

VIDOCQ (3+ outta 5 stars) Visually impressive mystery/thriller taking place in France around the time of the French Revolution. Gerard Depardieu plays the title character, Vidocq, a brilliant criminologist who is on the trail of a mysterious caped villain who wears a mirrored mask. In the opening scene the villain knocks Vidocq into a fit of fire and a young journalist (Guillame Canet),who is writing a biography of Vidocq, traces the great detective's last steps to bring the mysterious caped figure to justice. So we get flashbacks to Vidocq's investigation inter-cut with the writer's search. Depardieu makes for an interesting hero... sort of a cross between Sherlock Holmes and a professional wrestler. (You rarely saw Holmes pick up a villain and hurl him across a room.) The computerized special effects look a lot better in this movie than they do in some bigger-budgeted Hollywood movies... the backgrounds all have a veneer of unreality about them and yet they are still convincing. The conclusion is not much of a surprise but the discovery of the villain's identity is still pretty satisfying.

Pitof's style and design comes blazing through, in a kind of high-octane version of the work he did for Jeunet & Caro - a mixture of French garishness and Tim-Burton-esque gothic fantasy and detail. Also reminded me a bit of Alex Proyas' design on Dark City.

The plot gallops along, with Depardieu appearing in flashback scenes throughout while his biographer, the police, a decadent journalist and his sidekick all try to re-trace his steps, solve the bizarre murders and capture the Alchemist (if he or she even exists)!

There's so much going on on-screen that it's a complete feast for the eyes, especially once femme fatale Preah gets mixed up in the mystery.

I also thought it was so refreshing to see the investigative duo of Vidocq and Nimier, because they are both coarse, brainy & brawny (like two bears in top hats), whereas any Hollywood film would surely add numerous physical & character defects. You'd also lose the wonderful surreal Frenchness of the setting, and almost grotesque supporting characters.

The Alchemist is a great baddie - not superhuman, but you're not quite sure (for a long time anyway) if he/she is really supernatural or not - or of his/her motivation, and by the last half hour you think it could be virtually any of the main characters under the mask, which sets you up for a really good revelation or two & a battle at the end.

An exciting movie (complex, but not difficult), and not one dull moment. I'm not sure what some of the negative reviewers were watching, because if you liked Sleepy Hollow or From Hell, you'll adore this.

Vidocq is directed by the singular Pitof, who has worked with Jean-Pierre Jeunet on such films as Alien Resurrection and the superior City of Lost Children. Depardieu stars (his 116th film!) in a striking tale of 1830's supernatural murder, set in Paris which would make an excellent double bill with From Hell. Vidocq was a real historical personage, and a genuine founder of modern French criminology - though this is a highly fictionalised part of a part of his life, inspired by the 'orrible crimes of contemporary penny dreadfuls and the likes of Spring Heeled Jack, than by any real facts. The film is shot entirely on high quality video and so visually it is completely different to a regular film. The sometimes disconcerting loss of depth of field brought by the format is compensated for by an immediacy and high impact in close ups, as well as an amazing (and presumably inexpensive), flexibility in shots and special effects. Watching it I was reminded of what a BBC costume drama would be like on acid, and could also see indebtedness to Phantom of the Opera, Sherlock Holmes and perhaps Blade... All in all I thought this the best French fantasy I have seen since Brotherhood of the Wolf - admittedly a small field, especially if one draws a veil over the dismal Belphagor: Phantom of the Louvre. Worth seeing if you like your fantasy dark, Gallic and hectic. A notable credit in the art department on Vidocq is Marc Caro (another Jeunet collaborator), who creates a convincing and claustrophobic world of political upheaval, crowded streets, menacing glass works and a range of grotesques. Some great scenes, EG the two men set on fire by lightning bolts set to the elegant music of Vivaldi, while the three or four main fight scenes are handled excitingly. Vidocq is such a strong character that this film cries out for a sequel. But Pitof is now apparently working on Catwoman, and going by this, his is a stylish, if rather in your face, talent. The HK DVD is excellent, although there are occasional glitches in the subtitles.