Mystère de la chambre jaune, Le (2003)

Director:

Bruno Podalydès

Writers:

Gaston Leroux (novel)
Bruno Podalydès (writer)

Release Date:

11 June 2003 (Belgium)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Detective Is Assassin | Rare Meat | Castle | Detective | Double Identity

Cast

Denis Podalydès	...	Joseph Rouletabille
Jean-Noël Brouté	...	Sainclair
Claude Rich	...	Le juge De Marquet
Scali Delpeyrat	...	Le greffier
Sabine Azéma	...	Mathilde Stangerson
Michael Lonsdale	...	Stangerson
Julos Beaucarne	...	Le père Jacques
Olivier Gourmet	...	Robert Darzac
Pierre Arditi	...	Inspecteur Frédéric Larsan
Isabelle Candelier	...	Madame Bernier
Dominique Parent	...	Monsieur Bernier
George Aguilar	...	Petit-Pied, le garde-chasse
Patrick Ligardes	...	Le brigadier
Sylvain Solustri	...	William, homme en noir
Vincent Vedo Velli	...	Marcel, homme en noir

Also Known As:

Mystère de la chambre jaune, d'après l'oeuvre de Gaston Leroux, Le (France)
The Mystery of the Yellow Room (literal English title)

Runtime:

France:118 min | Argentina:116 min

Country:

Belgium | France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Netherlands:AL | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:13 | France:U

Company:

Canal+

Movie Connections:

Version of The Mystery of the Yellow Room (1919)

an original, well-done crime/mystery film

I saw this movie at a film festival. I had read the book, too. This movie has several qualities: the actors are very good, the setting is typical, and the script is very well done. The storyline is quite good, it's about a journalist trying to outsmart a detective by solving a seemly solutionless crime. The movie added a nice comic touch that the book just didn't have. The clumsy photographer is a good comic relief from the crime/drama part of the movie, and blends well into making the movie so well-balanced. Also, all characters are so unique, so different from each other, that this movie distinguishes itself from many movies where character development is not as important.

All movies have faults though. The plot of this movie is a little far-fetched, and that gets frustrating, because I like to try to guess the outcome of movies when I watch them. Also, some doubts remain at the end about some elements. This could be good, could be bad, depends on what you like to see. So the only person who truly understands everything is Rouletabille, the journalist, and until he tells us, it's virtually impossible to know. It's both suspenseful and irritating.

Overall, pretty good, yet no social involvement or hidden message. Just good old entertainment, for those of you who like crime movies. 8/10