Corto Maltese: La cour secrète des Arcanes

Corto Maltese, the legendary sailor from the pencil of Hugo Pratt, have always been a bit hard for me to get my head around. For one, it's hard to get a hold of, and for two, because it's mainly in italian and french, which aren't my strong suits.

But from what I gathered, this is just like any other Corto Maltese adventure story: historical settings, exotic locations, shady plots, intrigues, clashes of different cultures, old and new allies, 'pals' and enemies, and of course, some beautiful ladies.

It was a breath of fresh air, adventurous but melancholic and beautiful at the same time. Eye-pleasing visuals, even after two decades on, which seamlessly incorporated some 3D elements into the 2D animation, a trend that reached its peak at that time.

Oh and from the art department I happened to recognize some names that I've encountered in my exposure to BDs (french comics) such as Olivier Vatine, Virginie Augustin and Didier Cassegrain. No wonder it turned out as remarkable as it did.

Anyway, its a recommend. I rate it a solid 8/10. It really took me back to a different era, a different time in various ways.

I think this is the king of all animation films. Pratt's "economic" drawing and his particular use of time are fully followed here. The action scenes are outstanding. The choice of the voices was accurate –even if one could think that Corto's voice should have a mix of different accents instead of speaking perfect french. It is, indeed, difficult to get into Corto's world at the first try; but I think the film –slowly starting, as in the original comic, with some kind of remembrance or reverie, an outside-of-time dialog with Bouche Dorée– does a great work in that way. Anyway, if at the end Corto's personality remains a mystery it must be said that it is the same for those who have read the whole series: Corto is an enigma, and the films succeeds in respecting that –instead of turning him into a simple adventure hero. Thus, the question "what is he really looking for?" remains unanswered. From my point of view, the difficulty of the film is not to get into Corto's universe for the those which are not familiar with it, but that it requires a minimum of historical knowledge. Indeed, some notions about the Russian revolution and the political situation of China at the beginnings of XX century are really helpful for the fully understanding of the film. In fact, the comic book includes some pages outlining this historical context; also, a map is as useful here as in The Lord of the Rings. In a word, watching this Corto Maltese film is as delightful as reading the comic book –and that is saying enough.

Being a big fan of Hugo Pratt's comic, I was pleased with this animated adaptation of Corto Maltese. The plot was most faithful to the original graphic novel, the dialogue being used almost verbatim. This must've been somewhat risky, since the story isn't exactly easy to follow. Animated features cost more than comics, so they also need bigger audiences, and the film-makers must've been tempted to tighten the pace and cut some of the historical references. Luckily, they haven't done so.

The drawing style is also truthful to Pratt, and the animation is as good as it can be without a Disney budget. Regarding this, one could even say that the faithfulness of the adaptation is a limiting factor. Pratt's contemplative and somewhat static form of storytelling is perhaps unfitting for an animated film, since animation has a different set of dynamics than comics.

The biggest flaw with the film is something that couldn't have been helped: the original comic is a long series of stories, of which the film can offer only a slice. Pratt's world isn't the easiest to enter, and seeing one film (or reading one comic, to that matter) probably isn't enough to make one see what's so special about Corto Maltese. The friendship between Corto and Rasputin, one of the most interesting aspects of the comic, is well conveyed in this particular story. But to wholly understand this relationship one needs to know their past - which the film can only refer to. The film-makers' choice of not starting from the beginning is understandable, since the first Corto Maltese story isn't the best or the most filmable of the bunch.

To sum it up: while I liked the film very much, someone not familiar with the comic probably doesn't get as much out of it. The best thing this film can do is to acquaint such people with Pratt's masterful work.

I am a big Corto Maltese and Hugo Pratt fun and in a way a cinephile. This movie was unfortunately a disappointment. It only captures very small parts of Corto's character and the general mysticism normally surrounding this hero and his adventures. In fact, everyone in the movie seems to have acquired a French attitude and face (incl. the Chinese) and I think only Rasputin is close to the enjoyable and surreal persona of Pratt. The animation is fairly well made but it becomes especially week in times of action. The more dreamy sceneries and scenes were much better. Overall, not a movie that I would see again (despite my love for Corto) but not one that I would totally reject. See it as a homage but dont expect anything breathtaking as the original graphical novel(s).

The story and the characters in this movie are guaranteed Pratt, and art is nicely adapted to animation. Sceneries are stunning and the atmosphere is definitely right. The animation is french standard quality, which means it's quite good, but not very fluid. You don't forget that you're watching animated pictures.

This could have been an excellent movie, had the director demanded a little more of the voice actors and sound engineers. Now there is very little drama in this movie. You see dramatic events taking place in exotic surroundings and hear people reading out script in a dry-sounding studio setup.

So: 3 points for the original comic, 1 for the idea of adapting it to silver screen, and points for animation, art direction and a beautiful musical soundtrack as well.