petra_ste Eugène François Vidocq (1775-1857) led a singularly interesting, eventful life. He was a criminal, then became a detective; credited as the founder of modern criminology, he dedicated revolutionary attention to branches like ballistics and undercover work. Shockingly, however, at no point did he pursue a sorcerer serial-killer who wore a magic mask and murdered virgins to obtain eternal youth.This thriller/fantasy accomplishes a remarkable task: usually a movie is either boring or ludicrous, but it takes a special alchemy (badum-tsh) to be both - although the rare fights between corpulent, aged Depardieu and the super-villain who hisses and convulses as if he has wasps under his cloak have a delightfully hilarious quality to them. Visually, the film is all over the place; it looks like the kind of nightmare Paul W.S. Anderson might have after an unhealthily spicy dinner.Vidocq wastes two fine actors like the always watchable Depardieu and Guillaume Canet - the latter probably best known outside France as the lucky guy who got to marry Marion Cotillard.If you want a better horror/thriller set in 17-18th century France, check out Le Pacte Des Loups, which is also very silly but much more competently crafted.5/10

dr_praetorius35 Along with "Le pacte des Loups", "Vidocq" can be spotted as the beginning of a french invasion in horror and fantastic genre. Viewing it 6 years after its first presentation on-screen, when French cinema has now produced such chillers as Haute Tension or L'intérieur, its easy to be impressed with the path the genre seems to follow in this most improbable country... Although Horror french movies are not ALL good, "Vidocq" is a prime example of a good and original piece of work coming from Moliere's land (and you should also pay close attention to the other movies named above...).While the story behind this gorgeous movie (every single frame is a "tableau") is pretty simple, there is much to love in this flick. All actors are quite good and every single characters is so well defined that, even with few words, the viewers can be delighted with their playing (Dussolier is especially good...). Costumes and settings are part of the fun here: with digital effects used with overwhelming intensity, Pitof have created a world that tap easily in our Gothic sensibility, yet the few historical events (the tensions between the people and the government is somehow palpable though we don't see much of it: it creates an ambiance of decadence that permeates every scenes) depicted here and there help keeping a strange aura of reality to this very improbable story... As I said: its clearly part of the fun...As the aforementioned simple story told before, Pitof edited his movie in a very energetic way, the scenes flowing easily from present to past and thus maintaining the viewer's interest. It helps that it begins with a Bang: the titular character being killed by the criminal (and what a criminal!) he is after in an industrial setting that could be hell (it simply have to be seen...). After that, a journalist, stating that he is Vidocq's official biograph, is searching for the truth: what happened to Vidocq and who killed him... And thus begin the darkest ride into the darkest sides of Paris ever filmed... with a satisfying punch in the end... This ending is good in a way that make the movie interesting to watch again in the lights of this very last information. Another interesting point: the story of Vidocq and his colleague Nimier, being told during the opening credit: keep your eyes open to read every newspaper's titles that goes here and there among the artisan's of this movie and you will have a complete fleshed out background for those characters...All and all, a very good and deliciously dark flick that would satisfy those weary of the mainstream horror cinema... This is not a film to read about. To fully experienced it, you have to see it... Believe me!

ernesti I thought that this movie could be very different from over the top American movies because it's french. Well i was a bit disappointed, because it's just too much over the top. The special effects are twice as beautiful than in American movies, this movie is just painting or an art in its own. Every scene is like an advertisement in television, and visually very intense and demanding to follow. Colours are vivid and they create a certain atmosphere.But what this movie succeeds in the visual side, it lacks in the deepness and in the story. The characters seem too shallow, the dialogue is very superficial from time to time. However when you adjust to the movie's different approach you can get a hold of it.I'm pretty puzzled over the fact that this movie has unnecessary action scenes. Really! It'd been more efficient if the bad guy with the mask had had a discussion with Vidocq than unrealistic fighting which we viewers are very accustomed to. Of course there should be fights, but this movie tries to be in the horror and action genre and it's just too lame because it'd been done too many times before.It's so much harder to make good and impressive dialogues between the bad guy and the hero than just generic fighting with special effects.This movie clearly isn't a horror movie, it's fantasy and thriller.I enjoyed this movie because of it's new approach to the visual side, it looks like a computer game. It's a pretty good and impressive movie if you don't analyze it all the time. "Plenty of cakes are beautiful from the surface.", i just can't avoid the feeling that this movie is just way too shallow.

José Luis Rivera Mendoza (jluis1984) French director Pitof was responsible of the visual effects of most of the best fantasy movies made in France during the 90s; including the brilliant works by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, "Delicatessen" and "La Cité Des Enfants Perdus". Now, and with a small help of Marc Caro himself, he takes the position of director in one of the best fantasy films of modern times, a fictional adventure of the world's first detective, Vidocq.In real life, François-Eugène Vidocq was a criminal who later become a police officer and then the world's first private detective, innovating the criminology and the police work like nobody ever did. Now, in Pitof's movie, the famous detective (played by Gérard Depardieu) is apparently killed in his last case by a mysterious criminal, so his young admirer and biographer Etienne Boisset (Guillaume Canet) must solve the mystery of Vidocq's death and stop the criminal his idol couldn't catch.Like in their previous collaborations, Pitof gives life to Marc Caro's designs with vivid colors and a beautiful photography. Aided by digital effects, Pitof creates a fantastical 18th century France that is both haunting and captivating. Loosely based on Vidocq's memories, Pitof and writer Jean-Christophe Grangé present a thrilling story of mystery, horror and dark fantasy that never becomes boring and is full of surprises.Pitof's work in the U.S. (specially the awful "Catwoman") may turn off most people, but "Vidocq" is a completely different film. It is fresh, entertaining and very well designed. Unlike most Hollywood fantasy films, "Vidocq"'s flashy visuals never overshadow the plot and the cast. Despite being very prominent through the movie, the special effects serve their purpose without becoming the focus. While Pitof's film-making is very on the "style over substance" way of thinking, in "Vidocq" he seems to find the perfect equilibrium between them.Depardieu is brilliant as Vidocq and it is hard to think of anybody else playing the part. He has aged well and gives the role the dignity and humor the character demands. Guillaume Canet is also good in the lead role and portrays the naiveté of the young biographer with vivid realism. The beautiful Inés Sastre completes the cast in a role that mixes glamor with a lot of sensuality.Director Pitof's past as visual effects supervisor is latent, and while the digital effects are superb; his work with his cast is still a bit weak. Thanks to the talent of his actors this is not really a problem, but at times it still feels that Pitof prefers to work with computers than with people."Vidocq" is a movie to be entertained, and it serves its purpose perfectly. It is certainly not a thought-provoking movie but a movie to let the imagination fly. Like the early Caro-Jeunet collaborations, "Vidocq" is a dark fantasy for the inner child that still wants to venture in worlds of wonder. This Gothic tale of mystery and suspense is the perfect antidote to the mindless action films of the last decades. 7/10