Overrated

How sad is this?

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Cartouche is a 1962 Philippe de Broca offering from France. Ostensibly a well-crafted film, its technical excellence cannot save it from the fact that it represents that most tired and banal of cinematic genres, the swashbuckler.Full of action, there is no depth to this film and Jean-Paul Belmondo's macho posturing throughout would sit more comfortably with an American audience than with a French (or an Australian) one.Indeed, throughout it is clear that the director is trying to create a very Americanised film and it simply does not work in a French context.Whilst the action scenes are themselves well-choreographed, some of the cuts between scenes are very crude.Pacing is a problem that makes this film even more monotonous. The long and unwieldy narrative quickly becomes tiresome as one knows the hero will triumph. Although there is a dark twist towards the end, this is exactly what happens. The character is clearly drawing on the Errol Flynn version of Robin Hood, blended with some elements of Fielding's picaresque hero, Tom Jones.The colour is vivid and the spectacle is on a large scale but one has little sympathy for the characters. Cartouche is so much larger than life, one cannot empathise with him at all, especially given the macho posturing mentioned above. Even the Costner Robin Hood some thirty years later had failings and enough of a back-story to create some empathy. Cartouche, though, has no back-story and there is little character development throughout this film. As he is so uninteresting a character, one quickly loses interest in the film.Despite the problems with the characters, Belmondo and Cardinale as well-cast as the leads and do their best with the thin material.Indeed, Cardinale's character is the most interesting in the film, managing to blend a fiery personality with a submissiveness to Cartouche that would no doubt infuriate feminist audiences today. Indeed, a reading of the film from her character's point of view would make for a fascinating thesis. It is, therefore, her death at the end that gives the film its only real poignancy. Her laying out as a Princess, bedecked with the jewels stolen from the society ladies at the ball is a wonderfully-ironic moment. Likewise, the reflections of the dark, inky water when she is laid to rest give the film its only real moment of cinematic beauty.Besides this, the film's real saving grace is its subversive critique of the military. In the early part of the story, soldiers feature prominently and are consistently shown to be nothing more than state-sanctioned mercenaries. They do not care who they kill, as long as they are well-paid.Along with this ruthlessness, they are shown to be buffoons in uniforms, lacking any kind of depth or redeeming features. This wonderful subversiveness stands well today and gives the film its only depth, particularly when one considers it was filmed during the fallout of the Algerian War.Ultimately, one has mixed feelings about this film. For the most part, it is well-made, with some spectacular action scenes but also some poor editing. The male protagonist is a comic-book character but the female has more depth.The film's saving grace is its subversive quality. It bravely seeks to undermine the military as an organisation full of fools and ruthless, uncaring killers and it also seeks to attack the emerging trend of feminism by showing the loyal, submissive woman as the ideal.Ultimately, though, it is clear that the swashbuckler was a very tired genre by this time and it is fitting that this is one of the last of its type.

While this certainly isn't one of the deeper or meaningful costume dramas I have seen, I must admit it's a lot of fun--even though the character played by Jean-Paul Belmondo is crazy when it comes to his relationship with the lady played by Claudia Cardinale. It's in many ways a re-telling of the Robin Hood story in 18th century France--with a much more flawed main character. Like Mr. Hood, Cartouche steals from the rich and gives to the poor, but unlike Robin (who was quite happy with Maid Marion, thank you very much), once Cartouche got the girl of any man's dreams, it just wasn't good enough. Claudia Cardinale played a ravishing young thief who was desperately in love with him and ultimately would do anything for Cartouche--and the idiot keeps looking at other women! Ultimately he understands the stupidity of this, but by then it's just too late.The story excels when it comes to exciting fights and costumes. However, at times, it lets the viewer down because the mood of the film seems to shift too much--almost like there were several versions of the film and they morphed them together. On one hand, it's a romance and in that department it does an excellent job. On the other, it's an exciting adventure yarn and once again it succeeds in this department. But, at some points in the movie (particularly when Cartouche is in the army), it also tries to be a pretty broad comedy. I actually think the film might have been better if the entire thing had been comedy or they removed the comedy altogether. It just seemed disjoint and odd the way it changed styles. However, regardless of this, the film is still worth seeing and is a lot of fun.

CARTOUCHE (3+ outta 5 stars) Rousing comedy-action-drama about a rascally rogue in 18th Century France who is a sort of a cross between Zorro and Robin Hood... except that he's not necessarily helping the less fortunate so much as helping himself. No matter, as played by Jean-Paul Belmondo he is a charming hero... even when committing the unpardonable sin of wooing another woman while he has the steadfast love of the most beautiful woman in all of Europe (Claudia Cardinale). For those who love a good swashbuckler, this movie won't leave you disappointed. I found this movie tremendously entertaining, even in spite of the atrocious American dubbing. I will probably wind up giving this movie an even better rating when I finally get a chance to see it in its original language. Tired of his talent for thievery being exploited, Cartouche brazenly challenges the authority of the leader of the city's criminal population. Biting off a bit more than he can chew at the time, he takes a position in the French military. He and his new comrades not only manage to make off with a fortune in gold, but Cartouche wins over the ridiculously beautiful gypsy-thief Venus (Cardinale). Cartouche proves himself to not be without flaws... which gives the rousing finale an extra bit of resonance. Classic adventure movie-making... you don't see many movies like this anymore!

Those who like the genre should not miss the (rare) occasion to see this movie. It is a splendid cloak and dagger story, full of adventures, fights and love. Of course, somewhat incredible at times. Unforgettable is the scene in which the bandit Cartouche (Jean-Paul Belmondo) with the corpse of Venus (Claudia Cardinale) in his arms demands jewels in ransom from French nobles, in order to have a treasure to be buried with his beloved Venus, who has been killed in a fight.