BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

morrison-dylan-fan Aware of upcoming challenges on ICM to watch as many French films and 70's flicks in a month, I took a look at the 70's credits of auteur François Truffaut. Getting Small Change from a local shop, I searched on Amazon for a tantalising second title,and got set to meet Adele H.View on the film:Taking 7 years to reach the screen after plans for it to be a grand-scale epic starring either Jeanne Moreau or Catherine Deneuve, the limitations placed on co-writer/(with regular collaborators Suzanne Schiffman and Jean Gruault) directing auteur François Truffaut to go small-scale actually benefit the title,as Truffaut reunites with cinematographer Jacqueline Guyot and weaves the camera along the crumbling 1860's streets of Halifax, Nova Scotia,where Adele's red dress stands out like a shimmering light. Working on their second historical/Costume Drama after the magnificent The Wild Child, Truffaut and Guyot expand on the classical elegance of Child with New Wave stylisation seamlessly blended in of an eye-catching crane shot across a see-through building, and icy waves of overlapping images bringing to shore the drowned memories of Adele.Telling the story from Adele's own diary,the writers cleverly adapt her words with the themes across all of Truffaut's work,with the young Adele being detached from her parents in Nova Scotia,and desperately grasping for a love that will never make her fulfilled. Taking on a roll that titans Moreau and Deneuve had their eyes on for years, 20 year old Isabelle Adjani gives an extremely charismatic performance as Adele,whose experience with schizophrenia is treated with great sensitivity by Adjani,that is matched by Adjani's wide-eyed passionate young love,for the story of Adele. H.

bobsgrock Francois Truffaut's historical tale about Victor Hugo's daughter Adele and her obsessive quest for the English soldier she loved is bittersweet and heartfelt at the same time. It takes the true talent and caliber of a director like Truffaut to make a character such as Adele Hugo into a person that ends up being more sympathetic than deplorable. Still, Truffaut does not shy away from the elements that make up her descent into madness and deep sorrow, showing the ways in which she will go to extreme lengths to get what she wants. There is a burning desire in this woman that is both disturbing and admirable at the same time.Isabelle Adjani won much acclaim for her work as Adele and it was well- deserved. At a mere 19, Adjani showed incredible poise as a young actress, capable of carrying virtually the entire picture mostly with her eyes, which are a deep blue and give her face a hauntingly beautiful quality. There is the constant feeling about Adele that she, being the daughter of the famous French poet Victor Hugo, is simply a spoiled rich girl using her father's money to try and buy a husband. Yet, Truffaut does not see it that way. Rather, he views Adele as a tortured soul who had enough passion and love for both herself and the man of her dreams only to receive indifference and cold incredulity. It is a sad film but at the same time a film of remarkable human courage and persistence. Many would question Adele's motivations for doing the things she does, which seem to be purely selfish, but no one can question the heart and passion with which she does it.

monimm18 The first time I saw this film (twenty years ago) the thing that impressed me the most was Isabelle Adjani's portrayal of Adele, the natural way in which she conveyed her character's emotions. Seeing it again recently, I was able to better appreciate the film's fine crafting. One can sense Truffaut's hand in the direction, even if it seems a bit different and less complex than other films of his. However, I found this one to be the most haunting of all the Truffaut films I saw. It skillfully depicts Adele's circumstances and her torment without turning into a sentimental melodrama. As her desperation grows, so do her actions turn more and more irrational and outrageous. Yet, there is something about Adele that makes one understand her and feel for her. I credit that to Adjani's talent and the director's vision.The final scene punched me emotionally and spoke volumes without any of the characters uttering a word to each other: Adele, her mind lost by now, passing by Lt. Pinson without even recognizing him - so consumed with her obsession and grief for her lost love that she forgot who was the cause of her torment. In a way, all she remembered was not Pinson himself, but the idea of being with him.I think this film is an interesting psychological study. In spite of its character's tragism, it doesn't try to be morally conclusive or emotionally manipulative. Adele seems to be a victim, but is she a victim of another's insensitivity, a victim of circumstances, or a victim of her own emotional instability? Or, is she a victim at all?Maybe that's why the film elicits such a lasting impression: it leaves enough for the viewers to think about and digest afterwards, and eventually to draw their own conclusions.

MartinHafer This is an incredibly sad movie to watch because you know that Adele was a REAL person who lived an incredibly screwed up and sad life. She was completely wrapped up in her dream of marrying a British soldier--so much that she followed him across the Atlantic, tells her parents she married him (after he repeatedly refused to do so) and planned the details of her life around this obsession. Slowly, she moves from a form of Obsessive-Compulsive disorder to Schizophrenia and it is especially apparent in the last portion of the movie.I really liked Isabelle Adjani's acting--she and the director (Truffaut) really pulled you into her world and it seemed quite poignant. However, the treatment of her love (who was completely indifferent to her) seemed rather superficial. Despite the pains she put him through, his emotional range in response to this MINIMAL and this is the biggest drawback in the movie. However, as the movie is HER story and this is handled so well, I still give the movie a 9. It could have gotten a 10 if it explored him better and if it explained WHY Adele's famous father (Victor Hugo) did so little to stop her on her self-destructive decline. He only acted once she was undeniably mad.