Cinema 2011 #41: The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec

There’s something very French about director Luc Besson’s latest offering, The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec. Évidement, you say, fondling your onions in your Breton Stripe shirt, given that it’s a French film, in the French language about a feisty Franco femme and the general bonhomie her titular experiences evoke. Non non, mon ami, we know we’re in jolly Jeunet territory here from the get go, as a silken-tongued omniscient narrator introduces the story by listing the minutest of details concerning a secondary character whose very insignificance is the driving force behind the entire plot. Yes, ever since Mlle. Poulain wowed audiences with her wide-eyed whimsy spanning multiple-character arcs, the all-knowing raconteur has fast become a Gallic cinematic fait accompli. In this adventure, M. Je-sais-tout’s observational powers revolve around Adèle Blanc-Sec, an adventurer and novelist in a beautifully realised Belle Époque Paris.

There’s a good dollop of fun to be had in this French rehash of adventure movies that remains loyal to its comic book origins, with a polished sheen on a relatively shoestring budget. While it may not be as lavishly exciting as classic Indiana Jones, Adèle’s escapades are cheerful and slapstick, and look sumptuous on screen. The story, however, is a tad overcooked, with the plot a laborious and multi-stranded mess. No stone is left unturned as we take in archeology, fantasy, zoology, necromancy, paleontology and Egyptology, not to mention a half-boiled love interest, a barmy game hunter, a peckish policeman, a psychic professor and the dangers of sibling rivalry on the tennis court.

Louise Bourgoin, a talented ingénue of French cinema having made her name presenting the weather, is zesty and beautiful as the heroine, making Adèle credible as a force to be reckoned with when the merde hits the fan. Indeed all of the cast do well, working with some extreme make-up, exciting stunts and big sets, and the scant screen time the epic storylines allow. But in a spectacle show like this, it’s those behind the scenes who deserve the biggest mention. The make-up department score high with their extreme prosthetics. And Olivier Bériot’s costume design is tailored with classic French finesse, whether donned by CanCan-ing showgirls in pre-WWI Parisian salons or our heroine trading pithy barbs in pith helmets in Cairo.

Essentially, this is Luc Besson at his best/worst, depending on how you feel about the visual excesses of cinéma du look.  Certainly, the story is overblown, dragging particularly in its multifaceted final act, but there’s no denying the film is tied together with an exquisite eye for detail and style. Without a doubt Besson has taken graphic novelist Jacques Tardi’s belle and turned her into a bona fide star, less BD and a lot more BCBG. But at the end of the day, The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec is big and decadent filmmaking, and far too bloated to savour.

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