Arsène Lupin (2004)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Jean-Paul Salomé

Writers:

Jean-Paul Salomé (scenario) and
Laurent Vachaud (scenario) ...

Release Date:

13 October 2004 (France)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Mystery | Romance

Plot:

As the daring thief Arsène Lupin (Duris) ransacks the homes of wealthy Parisians, the police, with a secret weapon in their arsenal, attempt to ferret him out. |

Plot Keywords:

Thief | Police | Nudity | Treasure | Crushed Head

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Marie Bunel	...	Henriette Lupin
Nicky Naude	...	Théophraste
Guillaume Huet	...	Arsène enfant
Françoise Lépine	...	Duchesse
Christophe Laubion	...	Le Brigadier
Robin Renucci	...	Dreux-Soubise
Adèle Csech	...	Clarisse enfant
Eric Vanzetta	...	Le Gendarme 1 (as Vanzetta)
Romain Duris	...	Arsène Lupin
Hervé Falloux	...	Le Maître D'hôtel
Sonia Dufeu	...	La Soubrette
Jessica Boyde	...	La femme aux diamants
Alain Cauchi	...	Le Capitaine Paquebot
Laurent Besançon	...	Le second du Capitaine
Eva Green	...	Clarisse

Also Known As:

Arsène Lupin (Spain)
Arsenio Lupin (Italy)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

France | Italy | Spain | UK

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Germany:12 | Argentina:13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Czech Republic:12 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Château de Chantilly, Chantilly, Oise, France

Company:

Hugo Films

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#36.3)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Christ lag in Todesbanden BWV. 625

Interesting beginning, the rest is simply outrageous!

"Arsen Lupin" and "Immortel" were among the films that i went to see during the French Film festival in Belgrade. While i immortel left a good impression on me Arsen Lupin got me and a couple of my friends laughing. Here's why: First of all, "The Adventures of Arsen Lupin" are a series of books which tell a story of a Gentleman Thief in the 19th century. The books are enjoyable if you are a fan of romantic-adventure novels.

The film tries to squeeze a few of these books into a whole. This was in my opinion a mistake from the start. The film starts unwinding at about the 1 hour mark and keeps unwinding for another hour, meaning that its ending for a whole hour. The scenes quickly jump from one thing to another not explaining the who or why, characters come and go, places, things, details... After an hour or so you can't even remember what happened 2 minutes ago and frankly you stop caring since the plot makes 360 degree turns every frame. Instead you catch yourself enjoying the unbelievable plot twists and the speed at which they unfold in a bad way, I had the whole cinema laughing throughout the second part of the film. All the characters are switched around, so in the end his father is trying to kill him (WHY?!), oh yeah and he is searching for this treasure which is shown by placing certain crosses together.

Also he seems to be in love with a witch/devil character who tries to use him but doesn't, then does and so on... Another comic character was the witch's henchman who had a metal plate covering half of his face, his role is also unclear. The costumes and scenery are very well done but they don't do much to fix the script, editing and awful directing. The first half of the film starts out slow and slightly boring but the second half is fast, confusing and outright funny. I loved laughing my head off at the unbelievable plot twists in the second half of the film. Otherwise its not worth seeing this film.