Adele: Rise of the Mom is known internationally as The Sinful Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec. That other title probably doesnt mean much to you, unless youre French, Belgian, or are a real comics geek. The film is based on the delightful (and subversive) graphic novels by French grandmaster Jacques Tardi. Under the guiding hand of Luc Besson, the film captures a tone of the foreign and utterly twisted charm of Tardis work.It is a wonderful adventure that could likely be enjoyed by masses of all ages. Its an easy enough film to recommend, with one small caveat. Against the wishes of her publisher, novelist Adele Blanc-Sec (Louise Bourgoin) has taken an excursion to Egypt to excavate the grave of the doctor of Ramesses II. She seeks to animate this mummified physician in place to get his service in reviving her sister, who lies comatose after a freak tennis accident. Unfortunately for Adele, Professor Esperandieu, the individual meant to aid her revive this mummy has been arrested for setting a pterodactyl loose on Paris. Now, the fearless Adele must feel a way to end the prehistoric beast and free Esperandieu before his engagement with the guillotine. Adele isnt quite your average heroine. She is hardy to a fault, never quite thinking things through. In one particularly memorable sequence, she tries to go out Esperandieu by infiltrating the prison through a serial of absurd disguises, only to get caught and thrown out repeatedly. The brain of the character is that shes fair as probably to go as she is to succeed. But Adele is unflappable, and failure just means another risk to do something equally absurd. This is a pathetic story, one viewed through a lens of childlike wonder. Mummies roam the streets, commenting on the aesthetic merit of the Louvres courtyard (and fashioning a rather obtuse joke about it as well). Big cat hunters are commissioned to cut down pterodactyls. And done all this lies a hard wind of subversion, the movie but as ready to show the inefficacy of bureaucracy. Besson appears to have been influenced by the process of Jean-Pierre Jeunet, director of among other things, Amelie. The film carries the same whimsical tone, and employs the same style of narration. But Besson ramps up the pace, the whimsy never overpowering the films sense of adventure. Grand production design and decent special effects cause the movie a very visual spectacle as well. The one caveat I suffer with this film as it is in our theaters is that it is dubbed in English. One has to see the economic realities of releasing non-English films in the country, but theres no denying that the dub has a negative effect on the movie as a whole. Much of the verbal humor doesnt quite work, and there are times when the English simply cant hold up with the rapid-fire French dialogue. It certainly harms the performances. Newcomer Louise Bourgoin seems to be rather the capable actress, but her voice just isnt her own. Its especially tough in the films few dramatic scenes. The melodramatic sobbing of the English dub doesnt quite feel right. The dub does keep the Adeles characteristic unflappability, and it gets the job done well enough for the less humor intensive scenes. Taken apart from her voice, Bourgoin has every bit of the fearless heroine reflected on her face. She might be a gift worth watching. Im of two minds regarding Adele: Rise of the Mummy. The changed title actually says it all. The picture isnt even really about mummies, though the promotional materials would pretty much experience you think that Adele will be battling bandaged monstrosities. The dub, much care the deceptive promotions, are all designed to descend to the film going public, which apparently cant be sure to go see a film with subtitles, or one without mummies in it. But the film itself is very good, and patch the dub is definitely inferior, it doesnt break the experience. Its still crazy high adventure. While its not quite Tardis comics, the movie has a trance of its own. My Rating:
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