It's one of those films you've subconsciously been looking for, and then you find it. Or it finds you. And it delivers! It has all the things a film should have: Disguises, magicians, men in cape, kidnappings, detectives, kid sidekicks, cat burglars, acrobats, rooftop fights. It's a remake of an old silent film serial and has that melodramatic quality you also find in Adèle Blanc-Sec. The story is mostly told visually, conversations are kept to a minimum. It's a strange and dreamlike film, and part of the fun is that the villainess is a lot more appealing than the square hero.
I've just found this blog after reading your work for years. Anyways, glad to see that someone else has watched this movie! Its fantastic in all senses of the word and the only flaws come from the original Feuillade 1916 serial's plot. The only thing this version lacked was the surprisingly moving character arc the Favraux father (the initial villain) underwent in the serial. However, the masked ball in Franju's version is one of my favorite scenes in movies.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's a great scene! Haven't seen the original serial...
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