Vidocq (2001)
Genre: Fantasy / Thriller
Duration: 98 minuten
Country:
France
Directed by: Pitof
Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Guillaume Canet and Inés Sastre
IMDb score:
6,4 (23.927)
Releasedate: 18 September 2001
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Vidocq plot
"To look into his mask was to lose your soul."
Paris, 1830. While the tension of the revolution reigns over the city, the master detective Vidocq (Gérard Depardieu) suddenly disappears. The secret of the unmasking, who is the murderer, taking to his grave. Etienne Boisset, Vidocq's alleged biographer, looms up in the story and decides to get to the bottom of the matter and investigate the detective's murder. This way he can finish the biographical story and then publish the book. As the investigation continues, there are more and more victims and who is who now?
Actors and actresses
Vidocq
Etienne Boisset
Preah
Lautrennes
Sylvia
Nimier
Tauzet
Marine Lafitte
Belmont
Veraldi
Reviews & comments
Roger Thornhill
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- 6070 messages
- 2476 votes
Nice atmosphere, sort of à la From Hell (coincidentally from the same year), with a fine Depardieu (although not on Hans G. Kresse's Vidocq from my youth) and beautifully edited visuals that give the story its very own ambiance. I can't get higher than 3½* because I'm simply not a fan of the hectic editing of, for example, the fight scene around that fire pit, but the film is certainly special and fascinating.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
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- 11421 messages
- 6719 votes
pithy.
I had wanted to see Vidocq for quite some time. Pitof is a rather classy director who could probably consider this his magnum opus. That actually says more about the other work he has directed, but in terms of style he touches a lot of good areas, just not enough unfortunately.
What is striking about the film is the very energetic way of directing. With wild camera movements and lightning-fast montages, we are introduced to a variety of characters, all of which are unfortunately uninteresting. The only one that's really nice is the killer himself, but this appearance only appears in a limited number of scenes.
The story that Pitof tries to work out is messy, but the many tricks from the direction greatly distract from the content. The only way to get through this movie is to just pay attention to the energy, because I don't think you will get much from the story. There is quite a bit of dragging in, but in the end it is completely lost to the viewer.
Cinematographically still a very good film, although Pitof does not really give you the space to pay attention to it. I love movies that have an abundance of style, but in this case it should have just been a regular action movie. The story is almost impossible to follow, and all that is left behind is an energetic film that does not bore, but of which the content is not really interesting. To disregard all the silly ideas that are tied together for a moment. Energetic, but messy.
Translated from Dutch · View original
UmbraVitae
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- 4370 messages
- 4078 votes
Very atmospheric thriller with a mystery edge. Thought the setting created also had something, at times it was a painting that came to life.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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