Rating: 
Summary: Flawed Truffaut, Flawless Adjani.
Review: Being a fan of Truffaut and having seen such great movies of his as THE BRIDE WORE BLACK, THE 400 BLOWS, and THE WILD CHILD i expected this film to be as great but unfortunatly it was not as great as the ones i have mentioned but it is not one of Truffaut's worst either. It manages to make the cut because of great direction, cinematography, costumes, sets, locations, and most of all because of Isabelle Adjani's great and haunting performance, a performance for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for best actress and an award she should have won but which she lost to Louise Fletcher for ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. She portrays the daughter of Victor Hugo, Adele Hugo (hence the H in the title). The story is based on true events which were recorded in a diary the real Adele kept. Adele falls in love with a soldier she met in France and soon after he leaves her and goes to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The movie begins by showing us Adele arriving in Nova Scotia and from then on we see her try to win her love back but he reveals he had no serious intentions with her and she becomes obsessed with getting him back. She has little pride and dignity and she does what she has to do to get him back and we see her suffer and through journal entries and letters we understand what she is going through psychologically. But for some reason the movie never becomes totally emotioanlly involving which is the problem. If it had it would have been a masterpiece. I think this might be due to the script in some way. But if not for Adjani this might have been a mediocre movie. You can't take your eyes off her delicate beauty. As Truffaut once said "you could make a movie about just her face." Also look for a cameo by Truffaut as a soldier who runs into Adjani on the street.
Rating: 
Summary: Desperately follow your love to the ends of the Earth
Review: I first saw this movie 20+ years ago, and it has stuck with me ever since. I'm not sure if that's because of the beautiful Isabelle Adjani, or because it's a heart-breaking romance. The H in Adele H stands for Hugo, and yes, she is the daughter of the great French writer, Victor Hugo. I don't remember a spectacular setting, or a mighty cast of characters, but I do remember a tragic romance and a most gorgeous woman. It's not action packed, but it will get to you. Maybe watch it alone on a quiet evening.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful French movie with a beautiful actress!
Review: Isabelle Adjani again takes on a role of the rejected lover. This is the true story of Victor Hugo's daughter Adele, who enamoured of a military man, follows him to Halifax and refuses to accept his rejection. She does a fine job of depicting a young lady who has gone off the edge. The story is reminiscent of her portrayal of Camille Claudel, another excellent movie. Isabelle Adjani is beautiful to look at and does a fine job of portraying Adele. I enjoyed this film very much. For those who do not understand French, there are moments when English is used throughout the film. The subtitles do justice to the French.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good But Some Flaws
Review: Isabelle Adjani does a marvelous job of portraying the daughter of Victor Hugo, who is obsessively and unrequitedly in love with a soldier. However, there are some flaws in the film. At times it is curiously flat, which obsessive love stories rarely are. It also drags in spots which is unexpected for a Truffaut film. But a flawed Truffaut film is still a lot better than most other films. Adjani will strike you as incredibly restrained here if you compare this with her performance as Camille Claudel, where she is absolutely electric.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good But Some Flaws
Review: Isabelle Adjani does a marvelous job of portraying the daughter of Victor Hugo, who is obsessively and unrequitedly in love with a soldier. However, there are some flaws in the film. At times it is curiously flat, which obsessive love stories rarely are. It also drags in spots which is unexpected for a Truffaut film. But a flawed Truffaut film is still a lot better than most other films. Adjani will strike you as incredibly restrained here if you compare this with her performance as Camille Claudel, where she is absolutely electric.
Rating:
Summary: Its not about love for an Officer
Review: Isabelle Adjani plays an obsessed woman who will go to any length to get the attention of Officer Pinson in the story of Adele H. However, what becomes apparent is it's not he who she is taken with but rather the idea of love and the sacrifice. Truffaut wrote Officer Pinson as an unworthy character to show Adele as a woman who wanted to proclaim the purity of her love. And as the film moves on you begin to feel for the bothered Officer because it becomes a joke really, that she chose him; it could have been anybody, by proving the purity of her heart she can prove her moral superiority to her father Victor Hugo, the most famous man in the world. I enjoyed this film and think its the funniest of Truffauts' films at times because Adele goes all out; there is nothing she will not stoop to and she is extremely devious. The real Adele Hugo was much older when she made this trip across the ocean to Halifax and lived to be 85 years old spending 40 years in an asylum writing in her diary in a secret code, later the diary was discovered in a New York historical library and with much struggle Truffaut brought her story to film. The film has great depth and if you like history and great cinematography you wont be disappointed. The story of Adele H relies on the point of view of one character who is completely strung out and it is a tribute to Truffauts' genius that he was able to pull it off. The film is haunting because it is a conversion narrative about a woman realizing herself in self-destruction. This is a frighteningly intelligent film.
Rating:
Summary: A story of obsessive love
Review: Isabelle Adjani plays the title role, that of Adele Hugo, daughter of the great French writer, a woman obsessively in love with an English army lieutenant who doesn't want her. The scene is Halifax, Nova Scotia, during the time of the American Civil War. She has followed Lt. Pinson (Bruce Robinson) from her home in exile on the island of Guernsey to be with him even though he has rejected her. Adjani's sensuous beauty and her intense and passionate nature command the screen and we are drawn to identify with her as she spirals toward madness as her abject pleas of love are unrequited. We watch as she debases herself in every way possible in a desperate attempt to gain Pinson's love, even to the point of giving him to other women. She is psychologically pleased with this because she thinks it shows that her love for him transcends sexuality. Of course the nature of obsessive love is always entirely selfish. If you really love someone who doesn't want you, you have to let them go. But of course she cannot.Francois Truffaut directed and did a fine job of getting the most out of his young star. The maddening nature of obsession is well depicted and the story is focused and unfolds at a deliberate pace. Noteworthy is the setting itself, a cold and remote clime so that Adele is in isolation from her home, family and friends with little to do or think about every day except her obsession. It is easy to see how something like this can lead to complete madness. Memorable is a little story within the larger tale, that of the fraudulent hypnotist whom Adele thinks might be able to turn Pinson's indifference into love.
Rating:
Summary: A story of obsessive love
Review: Isabelle Adjani plays the title role, that of Adele Hugo, daughter of the great French writer, a woman obsessively in love with an English army lieutenant who doesn't want her. The scene is Halifax, Nova Scotia, during the time of the American Civil War. She has followed Lt. Pinson (Bruce Robinson) from her home in exile on the island of Guernsey to be with him even though he has rejected her. Adjani's sensuous beauty and her intense and passionate nature command the screen and we are drawn to identify with her as she spirals toward madness as her abject pleas of love are unrequited. We watch as she debases herself in every way possible in a desperate attempt to gain Pinson's love, even to the point of giving him to other women. She is psychologically pleased with this because she thinks it shows that her love for him transcends sexuality. Of course the nature of obsessive love is always entirely selfish. If you really love someone who doesn't want you, you have to let them go. But of course she cannot. Francois Truffaut directed and did a fine job of getting the most out of his young star. The maddening nature of obsession is well depicted and the story is focused and unfolds at a deliberate pace. Noteworthy is the setting itself, a cold and remote clime so that Adele is in isolation from her home, family and friends with little to do or think about every day except her obsession. It is easy to see how something like this can lead to complete madness. Memorable is a little story within the larger tale, that of the fraudulent hypnotist whom Adele thinks might be able to turn Pinson's indifference into love.
Rating:
Summary: love and derangement
Review: The descent into delusion and insanity is skillfully portrayed by Isabelle Adjani in this film that opens by stating that it is about "events that really happened, and people who really existed".
Set mostly in Halifax, beginning in 1863, the cinematography by Nestor Almendros is exquisite, with the camera lovingly capturing Adjani's gorgeous face. Using a somber palette, with occasional patches of brilliant red, it often has the look of an old painting, and the music of the early 20th century composer Maurice Jaubert fits in nicely.Francois Truffaut (who 19 minutes into the film makes a brief cameo appearance) tells this story with gentleness and sensitivity, keeping the pace flowing; though a rather gloomy tale, it never gets either depressing or boring. It shows what started out as love, with a resolution to bravely cross the ocean to be with her lover, become increasingly demented, from being a stalker, to debasing herself by her willingness to "share", to the end, which takes place in Barbados. In the short and almost mute part of Baa, Madame Louise is a powerful and beautiful presence. Adjani won numerous awards for this 1975 film, and was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar (Louise Fletcher won for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"). Though the make-up is subtle and clever, it's her stellar performance that bring believability to this film.
The historical photos and information in the final scene are fascinating, and make for a satisfying ending to another of Truffaut's great films, and one I have enjoyed seeing numerous times.
Rating:
Summary: love and derangement
Review: The descent into delusion and insanity is skillfully portrayed by Isabelle Adjani in this film that opens by stating that it is about "events that really happened, and people who really existed".
Set mostly in Halifax, beginning in 1863, the cinematography by Nestor Almendros is exquisite, with the camera lovingly capturing Adjani's gorgeous face. Using a somber palette, with occasional patches of brilliant red, it often has the look of an old painting, and the music of the early 20th century composer Maurice Jaubert fits in nicely. Francois Truffaut (who 19 minutes into the film makes a brief cameo appearance) tells this story with gentleness and sensitivity, keeping the pace flowing; though a rather gloomy tale, it never gets either depressing or boring. It shows what started out as love, with a resolution to bravely cross the ocean to be with her lover, become increasingly demented, from being a stalker, to debasing herself by her willingness to "share", to the end, which takes place in Barbados. In the short and almost mute part of Baa, Madame Louise is a powerful and beautiful presence. Adjani won numerous awards for this 1975 film, and was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar (Louise Fletcher won for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"). Though the make-up is subtle and clever, it's her stellar performance that bring believability to this film.
The historical photos and information in the final scene are fascinating, and make for a satisfying ending to another of Truffaut's great films, and one I have enjoyed seeing numerous times.
|
