When Netflix premiered the first season of Lupin last January, 70 million sheltered-in-place households ravenously binged it, making the series the most-watched non-English show for its premiere month on the streamer so far. Lupin steals a page from French literature. The hero of Lupin, Assane Diop (Omar Sy) is inspired by France’s iconic ‘Gentleman Thief’ Arsène Lupin, a fictional figure created by French writer Maurice Leblanc in 1905.
Lupin was the subject of some two dozen books by Leblanc, who continued adding into his literary franchise until well into the 1930s. Akin to Robin Hood, Lupin stole from the rich, and often did good deeds despite his thieving capers. He was a master of deception and disguise, a lady killer who always operated with a classy panache. With a legacy spanning more than a century, there have been plenty of live-action depictions in film and TV.
The First Lupin Films are...
Lupin was the subject of some two dozen books by Leblanc, who continued adding into his literary franchise until well into the 1930s. Akin to Robin Hood, Lupin stole from the rich, and often did good deeds despite his thieving capers. He was a master of deception and disguise, a lady killer who always operated with a classy panache. With a legacy spanning more than a century, there have been plenty of live-action depictions in film and TV.
The First Lupin Films are...
- 6/11/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Amazon and Netflix are preparing to restart production on their respective series in France, with “Voltaire, Mixte” and “Arsene Lupin” with Omar Sy set to resume shooting after both were halted when the country went into lockdown mid-March.
Produced by En Voiture Simone, “Voltaire, Mixte” is expected to restart filming in mid-July in the south of France, while “Arsene Lupin,” which Gaumont is producing, won’t shoot again before September due to talent availability, according to several sources. The series was filming at the Louvre museum — which can reopen from June 2 — when production stopped.
“Voltaire, Mixte” is set in an all-boys high school in the 1960s, which is turned upside down when it starts welcoming girls. “Arsene Lupin,” meanwhile, is a modern-day retelling of the story about the eponymous burglar and master of disguise.
Elsewhere, the first two domestic productions set to resume in June are a pair of big-budget...
Produced by En Voiture Simone, “Voltaire, Mixte” is expected to restart filming in mid-July in the south of France, while “Arsene Lupin,” which Gaumont is producing, won’t shoot again before September due to talent availability, according to several sources. The series was filming at the Louvre museum — which can reopen from June 2 — when production stopped.
“Voltaire, Mixte” is set in an all-boys high school in the 1960s, which is turned upside down when it starts welcoming girls. “Arsene Lupin,” meanwhile, is a modern-day retelling of the story about the eponymous burglar and master of disguise.
Elsewhere, the first two domestic productions set to resume in June are a pair of big-budget...
- 5/18/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Under normal circumstances, the Cannes Film Festival would have announced its lineup this week. Instead, it’s still unclear how the festival will happen at all, now that the earlier delay to late June has become impossible — after French President Emmanuel Macron banned festivals and other crowded events until at least mid-July — and the rest of the festival calendar is mighty crowded. Autonomous sidebars Directors Fortnight and Critics’ Week have officially canceled. The festival said in a statement that it hoped to communicate the different forms that Cannes 2020 could take in August or September.
Whatever happens with Cannes, however, the French film industry’s representatives at Unifrance are soldiering on. Backed by the government and the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (Cnc), Unifrance is trying to keep its 1,000 members, who include global partners, informed during a pandemic.
More from IndieWireCannes Parallel Sections Directors' Fortnight, Critics' Week, and...
Whatever happens with Cannes, however, the French film industry’s representatives at Unifrance are soldiering on. Backed by the government and the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (Cnc), Unifrance is trying to keep its 1,000 members, who include global partners, informed during a pandemic.
More from IndieWireCannes Parallel Sections Directors' Fortnight, Critics' Week, and...
- 4/16/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
French producers have banded together to lobby the government to push insurance companies to start covering damages caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In any other country, asking insurance companies to change their policies in the midst of a pandemic for the sake of solidarity would be perceived as a practical joke, but not in France.
The ministries of finance and culture, along with the National Film Board, have started exploring different scenarios to get insurance companies on board, according to Valérie Lépine-Karnik, the head of the Upc, one of the French producers guilds that signed a letter to Culture Minister Franck Riester appealing for support in reaching a compromise with insurance firms.
France boasts one of the world’s most prolific film and TV industries, and as such, the extent of the damages linked to Covid-19 is proportionally vast. More than 30 film and TV shoots were stopped in Paris alone...
The ministries of finance and culture, along with the National Film Board, have started exploring different scenarios to get insurance companies on board, according to Valérie Lépine-Karnik, the head of the Upc, one of the French producers guilds that signed a letter to Culture Minister Franck Riester appealing for support in reaching a compromise with insurance firms.
France boasts one of the world’s most prolific film and TV industries, and as such, the extent of the damages linked to Covid-19 is proportionally vast. More than 30 film and TV shoots were stopped in Paris alone...
- 3/31/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday.
Now that 2018 is coming to an end and most critics have already filed their “best of the year” lists, we’ve decided to step away from new releases for a moment, and shift focus to older movies that members of our survey fell in love with for the first time this year.
This week’s question: What was the best “older” film — anything from the early silents to recent under-the-radar gems — that you discovered for the first time this year?
Carlos Aguilar (@Carlos_Film), The Wrap, MovieMaker Magazine, Remezcla
Late last year, I went to see Samuel Maoz’s “Foxtrot” and walked out a different person. The Israeli drama about a couple waiting on news of their soldier son had simultaneously devastated my psyche and shown me a refined and measured film...
Now that 2018 is coming to an end and most critics have already filed their “best of the year” lists, we’ve decided to step away from new releases for a moment, and shift focus to older movies that members of our survey fell in love with for the first time this year.
This week’s question: What was the best “older” film — anything from the early silents to recent under-the-radar gems — that you discovered for the first time this year?
Carlos Aguilar (@Carlos_Film), The Wrap, MovieMaker Magazine, Remezcla
Late last year, I went to see Samuel Maoz’s “Foxtrot” and walked out a different person. The Israeli drama about a couple waiting on news of their soldier son had simultaneously devastated my psyche and shown me a refined and measured film...
- 12/17/2018
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
From spoofs to point-and-click adventure games, here are 10 of the most memorable unusual incarnations of Sherlock Holmes...
We don’t know a great deal about the content of the 90-minute Sherlock special set to air later this year, but one thing has emerged from the set photos and tantalising titbits of information we’ve seen so far. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson will be in nineteenth-century garb, pitching them back into the setting of the legendary detective’s original adventures: 1895, to be precise. Why that happens is as yet unclear, but all will be revealed.
For those still craving their Holmes fix in the meantime, the new film Mr. Holmes offers us Ian McKellen’s take on the character, musing upon an old case as he looks back on his long career from the vantage point of retirement. Jonny Lee Miller’s ultra-modern, Us-based Sherlock will be entering his fourth...
We don’t know a great deal about the content of the 90-minute Sherlock special set to air later this year, but one thing has emerged from the set photos and tantalising titbits of information we’ve seen so far. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson will be in nineteenth-century garb, pitching them back into the setting of the legendary detective’s original adventures: 1895, to be precise. Why that happens is as yet unclear, but all will be revealed.
For those still craving their Holmes fix in the meantime, the new film Mr. Holmes offers us Ian McKellen’s take on the character, musing upon an old case as he looks back on his long career from the vantage point of retirement. Jonny Lee Miller’s ultra-modern, Us-based Sherlock will be entering his fourth...
- 6/29/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
The blu-ray/DVD release for last year's live-action Lupin the Third film will be released in Japan on February 18. Debuting overseas, the first live-action Lupin III film in four decades grossed $19.9M Usd at the Japanese box office. Related Content: Live-Action Lupin III Film Releases New Full Trailer First Live-Action Lupin III Trailer Anime: Live-Action Lupin III Film Gets Release Date, Cast Photo Revealed Lupin III (ルパン三世 Rupan Sansei), is a 1967 Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch (Katō Kazuhiko) that follows the incredible feats and adventures of Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series which is often described as a French counterpart to Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes. Considered the world's greatest thief, Lupin III, travels the globe, stealing priceless objects and announcing his intentions via calling card before pulling off the heist. Joining him are...
- 1/2/2015
- ComicBookMovie.com
The live-action Lupin the 3rd film will premiere in Japan on August 30th. According to Ann, the plot is , "Lupin and his partners in crime before they became a gang. They infiltrate the high security of the Ark of Navarone, a gigantic fortress-like safe, to lay claim to the Crimson Heart of Cleopatra within. It is said that whoever possesses this treasure shall "unite the world." Related Content: First Look At Shun Oguri In The Live-Action Lupin III Movie Live-Action Lupin III Begins Filming Casting Underway For Live-Action Lupin III Lupin III (ルパン三世 Rupan Sansei), is a 1967 Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch (Katō Kazuhiko) that follows the incredible feats and adventures of Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series which is often described as a French counterpart to Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes. Considered the world's greatest thief,...
- 6/25/2014
- ComicBookMovie.com
Related Content: First Look At Shun Oguri In The Live-Action Lupin III Movie Live-Action Lupin III Begins Filming Casting Underway For Live-Action Lupin III Lupin III (ルパン三世 Rupan Sansei), is a 1967 Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch (Katō Kazuhiko) that follows the incredible feats and adventures of Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series which is often described as a French counterpart to Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes. Considered the world's greatest thief, Lupin III, travels the globe, stealing priceless objects and announcing his intentions via calling card before pulling off the heist. Joining him are expert marksman and Lupin right-hand man right-hand man Daisuke Jige, master swordsman Goemon Ishikawa Xiii who is said to possess a sword and skills that can cut anything and femme fatale Fujiko Mine, fellow thief and Lupin love interest. Pursuing...
- 4/26/2014
- ComicBookMovie.com
The first footage from the forthcoming live-action adaptation of Monkey Punch's infamous Lupin III manga debuted on TBS's Asachan (Morning Chance) program yesterday. Visually, the film seems to have definitely captured the essence of the anime. Check it out. Related Content: First Look At Shun Oguri In The Live-Action Lupin III Movie Live-Action Lupin III Begins Filming Casting Underway For Live-Action Lupin III Lupin III (ルパン三世 Rupan Sansei), is a 1967 Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch (Katō Kazuhiko) that follows the incredible feats and adventures of Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series which is often described as a French counterpart to Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes. Considered the world's greatest thief, Lupin III, travels the globe, stealing priceless objects and announcing his intentions via calling card before pulling off the heist. Joining him are...
- 4/22/2014
- ComicBookMovie.com
Related Content: First Look At Shun Oguri In The Live-Action Lupin III Movie Live-Action Lupin III Begins Filming Casting Underway For Live-Action Lupin III Lupin III (ルパン三世 Rupan Sansei), is a 1967 Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch (Katō Kazuhiko) that follows the incredible feats and adventures of Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series which is often described as a French counterpart to Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes. Considered the world's greatest thief, Lupin III, travels the globe, stealing priceless objects and announcing his intentions via calling card before pulling off the heist. Joining him are expert marksman and Lupin right-hand man right-hand man Daisuke Jige, master swordsman Goemon Ishikawa Xiii who is said to possess a sword and skills that can cut anything and femme fatale Fujiko Mine, fellow thief and Lupin love interest. Pursuing...
- 4/14/2014
- ComicBookMovie.com
The live-action Lupin the Third movie will be released on August 30, 2014 in Japan. Below, you can see a set photo from filming in Chendai, China that contains Lupin actor Shun Oguri and Fujiko actress Shun Oguri. Filming began last October. Related Content: First Look At Shun Oguri In The Live-Action Lupin III Movie Live-Action Lupin III Begins Filming Casting Underway For Live-Action Lupin III Lupin III (ルパン三世 Rupan Sansei), is a 1967 Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch (Katō Kazuhiko) that follows the incredible feats and adventures of Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series which is often described as a French counterpart to Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes. Considered the world's greatest thief, Lupin III, travels the globe, stealing priceless objects and announcing his intentions via calling card before pulling off the heist. Joining him are...
- 12/16/2013
- ComicBookMovie.com
Actor Shun Oguri on set in the trademark black dress shirt and yellow tie. Only thing he's missing is the green jacket. Oguri lost 18 pounds for the role but Japanese fans are mixed on his selection for the titular protagonist. Related Content: Live-Action Lupin III Begins Filming Casting Underway For Live-Action Lupin III "Lupin III (ルパン三世 Rupan Sansei), is a 1967 Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch (Katō Kazuhiko) that follows the incredible feats and adventures of Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series which is often described as a French counterpart to Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes. That first manga has spawned a worldwide phenomenon that now includes anime, OVAs, a previous live-action film, music soundtracks, video games and even a musical. Considered the world's greatest thief, Lupin III, travels the globe, stealing priceless objects and...
- 11/30/2013
- ComicBookMovie.com
It's been a quarter of a century since Thomas Harris's cultured cannibal exploded on the thriller scene, winning fictional killers a place in our hearts for ever
Can it really be a whole quarter of a century since Hannibal Lecter took up residence in our cultural landscape with the immortal line, "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti"?
Well, actually, no. It is indeed 25 years since Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs was first published, but that famous quote is from Jonathan Demme's highly rated 1991 movie adaptation of the book; Harris's original line did indeed have the sociopathic psychiatrist chowing down on the offal of a census taker who "tried to quantify me once", but in the original text the cannibalistic serial killer's wine of choice is "a big Amarone". Perhaps chianti was the preferred plonk of Anthony Hopkins, who portrayed...
Can it really be a whole quarter of a century since Hannibal Lecter took up residence in our cultural landscape with the immortal line, "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti"?
Well, actually, no. It is indeed 25 years since Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs was first published, but that famous quote is from Jonathan Demme's highly rated 1991 movie adaptation of the book; Harris's original line did indeed have the sociopathic psychiatrist chowing down on the offal of a census taker who "tried to quantify me once", but in the original text the cannibalistic serial killer's wine of choice is "a big Amarone". Perhaps chianti was the preferred plonk of Anthony Hopkins, who portrayed...
- 8/1/2013
- by David Barnett
- The Guardian - Film News
Today is a day for news on live-action anime adaptations it seems. We received our first trailer for the live-action "Gatchaman" aka "Battle of the Planets" earlier today and now we have a new report that a live-action "Lupin III" film is being developed with a few leads already cast. Shun Oguri (Detective Conan) has been pegged for the lead role of Arsène Lupin III, a fictional character that series mangaka Kazuhiko Katō (pen name Monkey Punch...how cool is that?) created back in 1967 as the grandson of Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin. Sho Sakurai (Honey and Clover) will portray the sure-shot Daisuke Jigen while Satoshi Tsumabuki (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift) has reportedly been cast as master swordsman, Goemon Ishikawa. According to Japanese sources, the film is scheduled to begin shooting this fall with a release set for March 2014. But the real question...
- 6/22/2013
- ComicBookMovie.com
The Japanese film site Cinema Today has uploaded a trailer for Masatoshi Akihara’s Lupin no Kiganjo to their channel on YouTube.
The film is based Maurice Leblanc’s “L’aiguille Creuse”, known as “The Hollow Needle: The Further Adventures of Arsène Lupin” in English, but the characters and locations have been changed to fit a Japanese setting.
Arsène Lupin is a “gentleman thief” character which attained a level of popularity and longevity in French-speaking countries comparable to Sherlock Holmes in English-speaking countries. He’s also mentioned as the grandfather of the main character of the Lupin III manga and anime series.
In the film, a celebrity’s secretary is murdered, and a discrepancy in the testimonies of the people involved leads to utter confusion about what actually occurred. Meanwhile a female college student and amateur sleuth (Sayuri Iwata) discovers a mysterious cypher written on a piece of paper. She...
The film is based Maurice Leblanc’s “L’aiguille Creuse”, known as “The Hollow Needle: The Further Adventures of Arsène Lupin” in English, but the characters and locations have been changed to fit a Japanese setting.
Arsène Lupin is a “gentleman thief” character which attained a level of popularity and longevity in French-speaking countries comparable to Sherlock Holmes in English-speaking countries. He’s also mentioned as the grandfather of the main character of the Lupin III manga and anime series.
In the film, a celebrity’s secretary is murdered, and a discrepancy in the testimonies of the people involved leads to utter confusion about what actually occurred. Meanwhile a female college student and amateur sleuth (Sayuri Iwata) discovers a mysterious cypher written on a piece of paper. She...
- 4/13/2011
- Nippon Cinema
Frogwares Studio and Focus Home Interactive have released early screenshots from the newest and perhaps scariest entry in their Sherlock Holmes adventure franchise. This game, Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack The Ripper, pits the iconic inspector against England’s most notorious serial killer.
The PC title, out next March, places Holmes in London’s Whitechapel area circa 1888, when young women are being murdered in the East End. The police don’t have much as far as leads go, and Holmes comes in to take over the investigation and follow the trail left by Saucy Jack. This installment follows such highly successful series entries as The Awakened, Sherlock Holmes Vs. ARSÈNE Lupin and The Mystery Of The Mummy.
Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack The Ripper will offer players two different 3-D view modes. The first is a third-person perspective in the classic adventure-game point-and-click style, while the second is a first-person view of the spooky,...
The PC title, out next March, places Holmes in London’s Whitechapel area circa 1888, when young women are being murdered in the East End. The police don’t have much as far as leads go, and Holmes comes in to take over the investigation and follow the trail left by Saucy Jack. This installment follows such highly successful series entries as The Awakened, Sherlock Holmes Vs. ARSÈNE Lupin and The Mystery Of The Mummy.
Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack The Ripper will offer players two different 3-D view modes. The first is a third-person perspective in the classic adventure-game point-and-click style, while the second is a first-person view of the spooky,...
- 11/27/2008
- Fangoria
City of Lights, City of Angels Film Festival
Claude Lelouch is a populist filmmaker no longer popular with audiences either in his native France or among the large international following he created once upon a time with such hits as A Man and a Woman and And Now My Love.
Men and Women, which opened this week's annual French film festival in Los Angeles, finds Lelouch struggling to rediscover the formula of Gallic charm and star-crossed lovers that made him such a boxoffice favorite. The film has strong moments where he does reclaim the old magic. But the picture wears out its welcome long before the final reel and fails to make the necessary tonal changes to include episodes of depression, murder and suicide in an otherwise lighthearted ode to the glories of romantic love.
The film's theatrical outlook is problematic. It actually is a cannibalization of the first two films in an apparently now-abandoned trilogy called Genre humain, or Human Kind. The first film, Les Parisiens, disappeared within a month of release, so Lelouch scrambled to save the project by pulling together footage from the two films to create the version that debuted here. Without having seen Les Parisiens, it is hard to say whether he has helped or harmed his cause. But Men and Women definitely jumps around among too many characters and subplots to diminishing audience involvement.
What emerges as the central romance or romantic triangle of the piece belongs a pair of street singers and the barmaid who falls for the male. Shaa (Maiwenn) is a vagabond and petty thief who spots Massimo (Italian pop singer/actor Massimo Ranieri) singing on the street one day. She seduces him into turning his act into a duo. In the best tradition of old Hollywood musicals, the two swiftly find success in a nightclub, where Anne (Mathilde Seigner) can't take her eyes off Massimo between serving cocktails.
A music impresario soon takes Shaa aside and offers her -- but not them -- a contract. Without a moment's thought, she dumps Massimo for a chance at stardom. Massimo goes into an emotional tailspin (while at the same time writing a great song about lost love), threatens suicide or a return to Italy before Anne rescues him and -- voila! -- he becomes a star and Shaa turns into such a flop that she is able to pen a mea culpa memoir that becomes -- yes, it does -- a best seller.
And that's only one of the stories in "Men and Women!"
Anne's identical twin (also Seigner, of course) works for a pizza-parlor magnate (Michel Leeb), an uneducated, self-made man who on whim marries a beautiful stage actress and sophisticated aristocrat (Arielle Dombasle). His wife eventually takes up a clandestine affair with the chauffeur (Yannick Soulier), who is really a thief. There's a police detective who dies of cancer early in the movie, so his wife can marry her lover, who works as a singer at the same nightclub where Anne works. Later, a movie director (Lelouch himself) shows up to buy rights to Shaa's memoir to turn it into a film starring Shaa and Massimo, and the movie threatens to start all over again.
So a million things are going on with different levels of reality, but weary viewers can be excused for no longer caring. If the characters would simply sit down with a glass of wine and talk to each other, half their problems would get solved. The exuberant, new wave style of early Lelouch, where the camera pirouettes all over the set, is, thankfully, gone. In its place, though, is this mad hopping among subplots so that the focus never stays on anything for too long.
As a pop stylist, Lelouch must confront the fact that for French moviegoers he has been eclipsed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Jean-Paul Salome (whose exotic Arsene Lupin plays in the festival). At one point in this move, Anne tells Massimo that most of his songs are "too old." One wonders whether Lelouch, when he wrote that line, winced a little.
MEN AND WOMEN
Les Films 13 in association with Canal Plus
Credits:
Director: Claude Lelouch
Writers: Claude Lelouch, Pierre Uytterhoeven
Producers: Jean-Paul De Vidas, Claude Lelouch
Director of photography: Gerard de Battista
Production designer: Francois Chauvaud
Music: Francis Lai
Costumes: Karine Serrano
Editor: Stephane Mazalaigue
Cast:
Massimo: Massimo Ranieri
Shaa: Maiwenn
Clementine/Anne: Mathilde Seigner
Sabine Duchemin: Arielle Dombasle
Michael Gorkini: Michel Leeb
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 128 minutes...
Claude Lelouch is a populist filmmaker no longer popular with audiences either in his native France or among the large international following he created once upon a time with such hits as A Man and a Woman and And Now My Love.
Men and Women, which opened this week's annual French film festival in Los Angeles, finds Lelouch struggling to rediscover the formula of Gallic charm and star-crossed lovers that made him such a boxoffice favorite. The film has strong moments where he does reclaim the old magic. But the picture wears out its welcome long before the final reel and fails to make the necessary tonal changes to include episodes of depression, murder and suicide in an otherwise lighthearted ode to the glories of romantic love.
The film's theatrical outlook is problematic. It actually is a cannibalization of the first two films in an apparently now-abandoned trilogy called Genre humain, or Human Kind. The first film, Les Parisiens, disappeared within a month of release, so Lelouch scrambled to save the project by pulling together footage from the two films to create the version that debuted here. Without having seen Les Parisiens, it is hard to say whether he has helped or harmed his cause. But Men and Women definitely jumps around among too many characters and subplots to diminishing audience involvement.
What emerges as the central romance or romantic triangle of the piece belongs a pair of street singers and the barmaid who falls for the male. Shaa (Maiwenn) is a vagabond and petty thief who spots Massimo (Italian pop singer/actor Massimo Ranieri) singing on the street one day. She seduces him into turning his act into a duo. In the best tradition of old Hollywood musicals, the two swiftly find success in a nightclub, where Anne (Mathilde Seigner) can't take her eyes off Massimo between serving cocktails.
A music impresario soon takes Shaa aside and offers her -- but not them -- a contract. Without a moment's thought, she dumps Massimo for a chance at stardom. Massimo goes into an emotional tailspin (while at the same time writing a great song about lost love), threatens suicide or a return to Italy before Anne rescues him and -- voila! -- he becomes a star and Shaa turns into such a flop that she is able to pen a mea culpa memoir that becomes -- yes, it does -- a best seller.
And that's only one of the stories in "Men and Women!"
Anne's identical twin (also Seigner, of course) works for a pizza-parlor magnate (Michel Leeb), an uneducated, self-made man who on whim marries a beautiful stage actress and sophisticated aristocrat (Arielle Dombasle). His wife eventually takes up a clandestine affair with the chauffeur (Yannick Soulier), who is really a thief. There's a police detective who dies of cancer early in the movie, so his wife can marry her lover, who works as a singer at the same nightclub where Anne works. Later, a movie director (Lelouch himself) shows up to buy rights to Shaa's memoir to turn it into a film starring Shaa and Massimo, and the movie threatens to start all over again.
So a million things are going on with different levels of reality, but weary viewers can be excused for no longer caring. If the characters would simply sit down with a glass of wine and talk to each other, half their problems would get solved. The exuberant, new wave style of early Lelouch, where the camera pirouettes all over the set, is, thankfully, gone. In its place, though, is this mad hopping among subplots so that the focus never stays on anything for too long.
As a pop stylist, Lelouch must confront the fact that for French moviegoers he has been eclipsed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Jean-Paul Salome (whose exotic Arsene Lupin plays in the festival). At one point in this move, Anne tells Massimo that most of his songs are "too old." One wonders whether Lelouch, when he wrote that line, winced a little.
MEN AND WOMEN
Les Films 13 in association with Canal Plus
Credits:
Director: Claude Lelouch
Writers: Claude Lelouch, Pierre Uytterhoeven
Producers: Jean-Paul De Vidas, Claude Lelouch
Director of photography: Gerard de Battista
Production designer: Francois Chauvaud
Music: Francis Lai
Costumes: Karine Serrano
Editor: Stephane Mazalaigue
Cast:
Massimo: Massimo Ranieri
Shaa: Maiwenn
Clementine/Anne: Mathilde Seigner
Sabine Duchemin: Arielle Dombasle
Michael Gorkini: Michel Leeb
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 128 minutes...
- 4/12/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- The legendary exploits of turn-of-the-century French jewel thief and gentleman burglar Arsene Lupin get an extreme makeover with this eponymous film from director Jean-Paul Saolme. A luxurious period production turns Arsene into something of a bad-boy action hero along the lines of that grave robber Indiana Jones and hired gun James Bond. Meanwhile, a complex tale, which involves supernatural powers, a royalist plot, political turmoil and a series of last-second rescues and escapes, is no less far-fetched than those provided either of those movie heroes.
The film has its drawbacks. A series of false climaxes drags the story down in the last 40 minutes. Also, one does not easily warm up to young French star Romain Duris in the title role. Nevertheless, Arsene Lupin should receive significant exposure outside French-speaking territories. It certainly is an exotic package full of seductive gifts.
Story begins in 1882 Normandy, where Arsene's father teaches him the art of kickboxing and deception. The arrival of police to arrest dad for theft --charges he never denies -- and his almost immediate escape shatter any illusions young Arsene may harbor that his life will ever be normal.
That night Arsene's father convinces him to steal the family's heirloom necklace. When his father's battered body is discovered the following morning, Arsene's life as a thief is set, both in rebellion against the family that ostracizes him and his mother and in honor of his father's occupation.
Fifteen years later, Arsene (Duris) operates smoothly as a thief albeit a non-violent one. He is torn between a childhood sweetheart, his lovely cousin Clarisse (Eva Green), and the seductive Josephine, Countess of Cagliostgro (Helen Scott Thomas), rumored to be a centuries-old witch kept young and beautiful by her father's secret elixir.
Arsene soon uncovers a conspiracy by royalists, including Clarisse's father, against the Republic. Everyone is out to steal three crucifixes from nearly abbeys, which supposedly will lead to the royal jewels. In competition with Arsene and Josephine is a wily thief named Beaumagnon (Pascal Greggory), who claims to have been Josephine's former lover.
All the characters' motives are ambiguous and no one can be trusted, which leads to many twists, turns and startling revelations including who it was that killed Arsene's father. Who is one to root for here?
Complicating that question is Duris' decision to play Arsene with a flippant smugness that often grates. The actor doesn't seem comfortable in either the role or the elaborate period costumes.
The rest of the cast though is deliciously on target. Thomas, playing a character as treacherous as she is beautiful, maintains just the right degree of coolness beneath her sensual heat. Greggory is wonderful as a charming schemer, who plants seeds of doubt in everyone's mind. Green has effective moments as the young woman -- and only purely good character in the movie -- who knows exactly what she wants.
Stunts and production values are outstanding especially designer Francoise Dupertuis' evocation of Paris of the 1890s, where many of its well-known monuments were under construction. Debbie Wiseman's pulsating orchestral score adds to the excitement.
ARSENE LUPIN
Hugo Films/TF1 Films Production/M6 Films/Poisson Rouge Pictures/Vertigo Films/Rai Cinema
Credits:
Director: Jean-Paul Salome
Writers: Jean-Paul Salome, Laurent Vachaud
Based on the novel by: Maurice Leblanc
Producer: Stephane Marsil
Executive producer: Alain Peyrollaz
Director of photography: Pascal Ridao
Production designer: Francoise Dupertuis
Music: Debbie Wiseman
Editor: Marie-Pierre Renaud.
Cast:
Arsene Lupin: Romain Duris
Josephine: Kristen Scott Thomas
Beaumagnon: Pascal Greggory
Clarisse: Eva Green
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 133 minutes...
TORONTO -- The legendary exploits of turn-of-the-century French jewel thief and gentleman burglar Arsene Lupin get an extreme makeover with this eponymous film from director Jean-Paul Saolme. A luxurious period production turns Arsene into something of a bad-boy action hero along the lines of that grave robber Indiana Jones and hired gun James Bond. Meanwhile, a complex tale, which involves supernatural powers, a royalist plot, political turmoil and a series of last-second rescues and escapes, is no less far-fetched than those provided either of those movie heroes.
The film has its drawbacks. A series of false climaxes drags the story down in the last 40 minutes. Also, one does not easily warm up to young French star Romain Duris in the title role. Nevertheless, Arsene Lupin should receive significant exposure outside French-speaking territories. It certainly is an exotic package full of seductive gifts.
Story begins in 1882 Normandy, where Arsene's father teaches him the art of kickboxing and deception. The arrival of police to arrest dad for theft --charges he never denies -- and his almost immediate escape shatter any illusions young Arsene may harbor that his life will ever be normal.
That night Arsene's father convinces him to steal the family's heirloom necklace. When his father's battered body is discovered the following morning, Arsene's life as a thief is set, both in rebellion against the family that ostracizes him and his mother and in honor of his father's occupation.
Fifteen years later, Arsene (Duris) operates smoothly as a thief albeit a non-violent one. He is torn between a childhood sweetheart, his lovely cousin Clarisse (Eva Green), and the seductive Josephine, Countess of Cagliostgro (Helen Scott Thomas), rumored to be a centuries-old witch kept young and beautiful by her father's secret elixir.
Arsene soon uncovers a conspiracy by royalists, including Clarisse's father, against the Republic. Everyone is out to steal three crucifixes from nearly abbeys, which supposedly will lead to the royal jewels. In competition with Arsene and Josephine is a wily thief named Beaumagnon (Pascal Greggory), who claims to have been Josephine's former lover.
All the characters' motives are ambiguous and no one can be trusted, which leads to many twists, turns and startling revelations including who it was that killed Arsene's father. Who is one to root for here?
Complicating that question is Duris' decision to play Arsene with a flippant smugness that often grates. The actor doesn't seem comfortable in either the role or the elaborate period costumes.
The rest of the cast though is deliciously on target. Thomas, playing a character as treacherous as she is beautiful, maintains just the right degree of coolness beneath her sensual heat. Greggory is wonderful as a charming schemer, who plants seeds of doubt in everyone's mind. Green has effective moments as the young woman -- and only purely good character in the movie -- who knows exactly what she wants.
Stunts and production values are outstanding especially designer Francoise Dupertuis' evocation of Paris of the 1890s, where many of its well-known monuments were under construction. Debbie Wiseman's pulsating orchestral score adds to the excitement.
ARSENE LUPIN
Hugo Films/TF1 Films Production/M6 Films/Poisson Rouge Pictures/Vertigo Films/Rai Cinema
Credits:
Director: Jean-Paul Salome
Writers: Jean-Paul Salome, Laurent Vachaud
Based on the novel by: Maurice Leblanc
Producer: Stephane Marsil
Executive producer: Alain Peyrollaz
Director of photography: Pascal Ridao
Production designer: Francoise Dupertuis
Music: Debbie Wiseman
Editor: Marie-Pierre Renaud.
Cast:
Arsene Lupin: Romain Duris
Josephine: Kristen Scott Thomas
Beaumagnon: Pascal Greggory
Clarisse: Eva Green
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 133 minutes...
- 9/17/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CANNES -- A bevy of French directors, including those with movies airing in Cannes, are due to join a demonstration in support of part-time showbiz workers Saturday that could bring major congestion to a Croisette already choked with weekend traffic. "All French directors at Cannes have agreed (to participate), and some others -- Jean-Luc Godard, Ken Loach -- will lend their support," Luc Leclerc du Sablon of the filmmakers body SRF told a packed news conference at the Directors' Fortnight headquarters late Friday. "The idea is that they'll all be there," said Gallic director Jean-Paul Salome (Arsene Lupin), who also plans to join the march. Organizers of the demo, which has been authorized by the city authorities, said several hundred of the so-called intermittents du spectacle are likely to show up. The real unknown is how many supporters of other causes will join the cortege. Intermittent representatives said that delegations from several jobless associations and the League of Human Rights would take part. Also expected are members of the anti-globalization movement Confederation Paysanne, possibly with its celebrated leader, Jose Bove, who has served a jail sentence in France for his role in destroying genetically modified crops. "There could be a lot of people", said Richard, a theater actor who declined to give his last name. Richard came to Cannes from northern France to lend his support to the movement.
- 5/14/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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