Definitely one for the Lara Croft generation. Not so much a film as a spectacular
collage of special effects loosely assembled into an implausible, incoherent storyline.
Whilst the film undoubtedly breaks new ground with its use of digital technology (made
possible by the latest high-definition digital cameras), it fails spectacularly as a piece
of cinema. Anyone who is not put off by the excessively flashy special effects and
the gratuitously visceral murders will most probably struggle to find any satisfaction
in either the acting performances (which are at best uninspired) or the story (which would
be an insult to the intelligence of a particularly retarded ten year old child).
In fact the film can only appeal to those who have next to no appreciation of the aesthetics
of cinema and/or are addicted to seriously violent computer games (and consequently don't
have much contact with the real world). The film's director, Pitof, followed
this with the even more risible Catwoman (2004),
conclusive proof that special effects gurus rarely make the grade as serious film directors.
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Film Synopsis
Paris in the 1830s. It is whilst in pursuit of a mysterious criminal
called the Alchemist that the celebrated detective Vidocq meets his death.
It is now up to Etienne Boisset, his devoted biographer, to unravel the circumstance
of his demise and track down his killer. He gets his first lead from
the cop's dour associate, Nimier. It seems that before he met his gruesome
end in a glassblower's workshop, Vidocq was instructed by his superior, Lautrennes,
to look into the brutal killing of three men Belmon, Lafitte and Veraldi.
These are all victims of the Alchemist, a man equipped with extraordinary
malevolent powers. From a seductive prostitute, Vidocq learned that
the three murdered men belonged to a sect and supplied their killer with virgins
for some diabolical purpose. Realising they had been duped, the men
turned against the Alchemist, and their reward for doing so was to be granted
the most terrible of deaths...
Cast:Gérard Depardieu (Vidocq),
Guillaume Canet (Etienne Boisset),
Inés Sastre (Préah),
André Dussollier (Lautrennes),
Edith Scob (Sylvia),
Moussa Maaskri (Nimier),
Jean-Pierre Gos (Tauzet),
Isabelle Renauld (Marine Lafitte),
Jean-Pol Dubois (Belmont),
André Penvern (Veraldi),
Gilles Arbona (Lafitte),
Jean-Marc Thibault (Leviner),
François Chattot (Froissard),
Elsa Kikoïne (La muette),
Fred Ulysse (Le vieux souffleur),
Luc-Antoine Diquéro (Le journaliste),
Akonio Dolo (Gandin),
Nathalie Bécue (La Matrone),
Pierre Macherez (Soldat Invalides),
Michel Lefèvre (Le cocher)
Country: France
Language: French
Support: Color
Runtime: 100 min
Aka:Dark Portals: The Chronicles of Vidocq
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