The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec: A Fantastical Journey Through Time and Space
Tone is Everything:
This is NOT a serious action film. Director Luc Besson ( The Fifth Element , Nikita , Lucy ) directs it like a live-action cartoon. Think Tintin meets Amélie with dinosaurs.
Unlike Besson’s more frenetic action films (like The Fifth Element or Lucy ), Adèle Blanc-Sec is grounded in a literary, whimsical tone. It captures the specific aesthetic of turn-of-the-century France—a time of scientific optimism, spiritualism, and colonial exoticism—while introducing fantastical elements like pterodactyls and mummies.
As Adèle navigates through treacherous landscapes, from the skies of Paris to the Egyptian desert, she encounters a diverse array of characters, including a talking Mongoose named Archibald, a mystifying fortune teller, and a group of sinister-looking thugs. Her exceptional bravery, combined with her razor-sharp wit and unwavering determination, makes her a force to be reckoned with.
Her physical comedy is exceptional. Watch the scene where she tries to sneak a mummy through a train station in a trunk; her silent exasperation rivals Buster Keaton.