Arsène Lupin (2004)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arsène Lupin is a historical drama – an adventure and a fantasy – which premiered in 2004.

 

The story is set in France shortly before and after the year 1900. Arsène Lupin is a gentleman thief who only steals from the rich, who can afford the loss, and from crooks, who deserve to be robbed.

 

He has principles: he never kills. But he is not a real person: he is a fictional character created in 1905 by the French author Maurice Leblanc.

 

Here is some basic information about this movie which is a co-production of France, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom:

 

** English title: The Adventures of Arsène Lupin

** Director: Jean-Paul Salomé

** Writers: Jean-Paul Salomé & Laurent Vachaud

** Language: French – no English subtitles!

** Released on DVD in 2005

** Run time: 131 minutes

 

The cast includes the following:

 

The first group

** Romain Duris as Arsène Lupin – the hero

** Kristin Scott Thomas as Joséphine Balsamo, Comtesse de Cagliostro

** Eva Green as Clarisse de Dreux-Soubise – Arsène’s cousin

** Robin Renucci as le Duc de Dreux-Soubise – father of Clarisse

 

The second group

** Pascal Greggory as Beaumagnan

** Patrick Toomey as Léonard

** Philippe Magnan as Bonnetot

 

Maurice Leblanc (1864-1941) wrote several books about his fictional character Arsène Lupin. 

 

This movie is not based on one book. Instead, the movie-makers have borrowed ideas and plots from different books and combined them in one story. This is perhaps one reason why this movie is not quite successful.

 

What do reviewers say about it?

 

On IMDb it has a rating of 54 per cent, which corresponds to less than three stars on Amazon. Many reviewers say they like the first half, but they do not like the second half, because it is confusing and chaotic.

 

On Amazon there are at the moment more than 150 ratings of this product. The average rating is 3.9 stars. This is better than what we have on IMDb, but still not very impressive.

 

I understand the critical reviews and I agree with most of them. This movie is flawed. It is uneven. Some scenes are excellent, while others are not so good.

 

Most scenes are realistic, but then, all of a sudden, the movie-makers introduce something completely unrealistic, even supernatural.

 

There is not one plot in this movie. Instead, there is a series of minor plots which are loosely and poorly connected.

 

The English title The Adventures of Arsène Lupin is well-chosen, because what we have here is a series of events in which Arsène Lupin is the main character.

 

The hero is often engaged in a daring and dangerous operation where we have to wonder if he is able to extricate himself from it. But of course, he always is.

 

As you can see, there are some serious flaws in this movie. But since some parts are quite successful, and since the cinematography is often excellent, I will be generous and offer a rating of three stars (60 percent).

 

PS. Lupin is a French television series which premiered on Netflix in 2021. Season one = five episodes. Season two = five episodes. Season three = on the way.

 

*****

The French author 

Maurice Leblanc

(1864-1941)

who created the fictional character

Arsène Lupin in 1905

*****

Lupin is a French television series

which premiered on Netflix

in 2021

*****