Vidocq - New French Adventure film (Check out if you liked Brotherhood of the Wolf)

Well, I finally got the HK dvd of this recent French much talked about film. So, Last night, I had some time, and decided to watch it. Here is the review of this film, and some of my own impressions and comments:


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Vidocq (2001)

Vidocq is one of those movies that claim to be the first shot entirely with the revolutionary High-Definition Digital Camera from Sony.

Paris, 1830. Crime investigator Vidocq (Gérard Depardieu) goes missing in search of a mysterious assassin called the Alchemist. The Alchemist, seemingly evil incarnate, has incredible powers and a mystique mirror for a face, with which he's able to absorb his victim's soul. Vidocq's biographer investigates the disappearance and soon finds the Alchemist hot on his trail. Who's next in line to become the Alchemist's victim?

Director Pitof has worked mostly as visual effects supervisor on movies such as City of the Lost Children, Alien Resurrection and The Messenger. His love for flamboyant visuals shines through in incredibly crisp and clear images. It will take some getting used to but the grain-less colors and contrasts look absolutely stunning. Everything from the streets of Paris to the Alchemist's laboratory shows an enormous dedication to both traditional and digital set design.

Apart from the visuals it also delivers an interesting story with fun characters and fight scenes. Never thought a fatty like Depardieu could kick so much ass. The wonders of digital technology…

Well, The film lest me excited as well :) Visuals were amazing, camera work and sets beatiful, and very unusual. I liked the how the actors portraid their characters, and action scenes were excellent. Its not much action packed as Brotherhood of the Wolf, and dont expect same martial arts/sword battles from that film, but fights that Vidocq and Alchemist have are really good. Especially first batlle with kanes/swords where characters jump over flaming fre pit.

The mystery storyline is very good, and keeps you glued to the screen until the final, where all the cards are open, and you learn the truth.

Quality of dvd is very good, and English subs are ok, but I wish they would translate more of the character dialog. I'm not sure if my dvd is region coded, will check on that later today, with my regular player, but All region dvd is available on Ebay, and usuall goes for like $9 so its very cheap

If you fan of horror/mystery/action films, or liked Brotherhood of the Wolf, and interested in seeing more of French productions, check this film out.