FILM PICK: The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec

Dear Gentle Readers,

In one of my "so many channels and nothing to watch" surfing moods, I discovered this wonderful little gem entitled  The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec. It is a live action film supplemented with computer generated graphics without losing that old adventure film of the past feeling. I watched it on Tubi, which is free movie channel I got with a Roku device you stick in the back of your telly. I bought it at Walgreen's.

 Now, be forewarned: The movie is in French, but with English subtitles. It is available on Amazon in English, but I do not recommend it. More on that later.

Adele is a young, beautiful, spunky French author. Her publisher sent to Manchu Pichu for a story, but Adele went to Egypt instead. Why, you may ask? She is searching for the mummy of Pharaoh Ramises' personal physician. She knows a scientist who can communicate with the dead, or so he says. And she needs him to heal her comatose sister, who was the victim of a tragic tennis accident involving a hatpin.

Adele returns to France with a mummy all right, but she discovers he is not the pharaoh's personal doctor, but Patmosis, a nuclear physicist, instead. 

Patmosis, who is nothing more than bone and mummy wrapping, is an absolute delight of a character. And he does possess some very interesting talents.  

In the meantime, the scientist decided to practice while awaiting Adele's return to Paris by communing with a pterodactyl egg in the museum, and he is presently in jail charged with the murders committed by the hatched pterodactyl, who is caused mayhem in the city. 

Adele's visits to the prison to see this old, bald, scientist are hilarious and showcases the talent of this amazing French actress, Louise Bourgoin.


This 2010 French fantasy adventure film was  written and directed by Luc Besson. It was based on an old French comic book series. This film combined "Adele and the Beast" and "Mummies on Parade." 


I read somewhere that they expected the Adele series to be a very popular children's series rivaling the British "TinTin" series, but there was a naked bath scene with a very wet Adele smoking a cigarette in the bathtub. There was no nudity, but it wasn't kid-friendly. Hmm...the French have always been advanced in that area. 

I bought the DVD on Amazon as a gift and was extremely disappointed in the English version. First, all the beautiful orchestra music was missing. That musical score, combined with the city of Paris cinematography, added to the authentic feel of this movie.  Also missing is the voice of Louise Bourgoin, who can emote through any costume and any language. Without her and the musical score, the movie was missing something.

So, check out Adele. Try the French version. I think you'll like it. 
Hugs,
Carol