Aka - Le Bossu
This splendid period French swashbuckler feels like it should have been written
by Dumas or Hugo but in fact it is based on an author little known outside
of France. Paul Féval was a writer of adventure novels in the 1800s
as well as vampire stories - La Vampire (1865), La Ville Vampire, The Vampire
Countess and Vampire City. He also wrote crime novels and one article claims
his book Jean Diable as the first modern crime novel. Sounds interesting.
Many of his books are on Kindle in English. His most famous book which was
serialized is Le Bossu (The Hunchback) which this film is based on and which
has been adapted to the screen over ten times.
Director Philippe de Broca was certainly comfortable with action films having
directed Jean-Paul Belmondo in a number of them but for the most part he
had stayed away from period films - Cartouche and Chouans being the exceptions.
But the period detail here is fine with the stuffy male outfits and dreaded
wigs. I have always wondered why these wigs ever came in to fashion. Can
you imagine if they still were. Of course, it would hide my expanding forehead.
The story is a sprawling decades long tale of adventure, heroism and betrayal.
It has a hint of Woody Allen though that in this day and age feels more than
a little weird.
Lagardere (Daniel Auteuil - Queen Margot) is something of a low class scrummer
who wants to better himself and shows up at a fencing institute and challenges
Duc de Nevers (Vincent Perez - Queen Margot) to a duel. Not to the death
but just to see who is better. The Duc easily bests him but takes a liking
to this brash commoner. Later Lagardere is hired along with a group of men
to assassinate a man but when he sees that it is Nevers he doesn't join in
till every one in the gang are dead - and again easily loses and with a sword
pointed to his head refuses to say who hired him. This endears him to Nevers
even more and he hires him as his companion. Nevers is played with verve
and charisma by Perez and when he hears that a woman that he had a love affair
with has had his child he decides to marry her. A son he proclaims. He takes
Lagardere with him on a long journey.
His cousin Gonzague (Fabrice Luchini) who also loves the woman and is next
in line should Nevers be killed before marrying sends a large group to kill
him. Luchini plays this character with both eccentricities and humanity and
is on one level likable and yet despicable. He isn't a one dimensional villain.
Nevers does in fact get married and then the killers attack and kill nearly
everyone - including Nevers who we are sorry to see leave the film. Lagardee
escapes with the baby thinking the mother was killed and joins a troupe of
actors. And brings up the baby - a girl (Marie Gillain). The years pass.
He had promised the dying Nevers that he would get revenge even if it took
20 years. And he tells the killers "If you don't come to Lagardère,
Lagardère will come to you!". The book is called The Hunchback because
Lagardere disguises himself as one to avoid being recognized. It runs a little
long at 128 minutes with the mid-section dragging but it all leads to a wonderful
climax. Except the Woody Allen bit. Lots of swordplay and dastardly scheming.
