Helmsley Arts Centre

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The Adventures of Arsene Lupin (15)

• Consumer Advice: Contains strong violence, some bloody
• Run time: 2 hours 11 mins

• Language: French
• Genre: Crime
• Release date: 9th September 2005

• Starring: Romain Duris, Kristin Scott Thomas, Pascal Greggory
• Directed by: Jean-Paul Salomé

• Distributor: Cinefile

Plot Synopsis

Boasting captivating performances from its lead actors, fabulous Cartier jewels, and a lavish production design recreating the glamorous Paris of the 1890s, this is the most spectacular French film of recent years. Arsène Lupin, the notorious thief, cuts a dash through the belle époque, ransacking the homes of wealthy Parisians.

Freely adapted from the novel by Maurice Leblanc, the film opens in 1894 with Lupin's first daring theft of a necklace once worn by Marianne Antoinette, and follows his subsequent adventures and entanglement with the mysterious, seductive Duchesse de Cagliostro (Kristin Scott Thomas). Beautiful jewels sparkle on beautiful women in a glittering world where nobody is quite who they seem, and sides are never certain.

The relationship between the two leads is electric, and alongside the explosions, kick-boxing, and police hot on the trail it makes for a rip-roaring, old-fashioned yarn, rather like old Saturday morning serial cinema. Classic locales (the secret cave, the count’s ballroom, the baddie’s boat) and a classic gentleman robber make for a perfect piece of cinematic entertainment.