The Story of Adele H

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Dave S Nov 29 Francois Truffaut’s The Story of Adele H deals with issues ranging from unrequited love to obsession to severe mental illness. Adele Hugo (Isabel Adjani), the daughter of Victor Hugo, travels from the island of Guernsey to 1860s Halifax, Nova Scotia in pursuit of a British army officer, believing that he is in love with her and is interested in marriage. Based on actual events, the movie matter-of-factly documents the descent of a woman into a state of utter madness, unable to distinguish between fact and fiction or chase away the demons that possess her. While it does sometimes feel as though the pace is a little sluggish, the movie manages to work thanks to a strong performance from Adjani, some great sets and locations, and nice cinematography and lighting by Nestor Almendros (better known for his work on Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven). See more Scott R @ScottR Nov 26 NYT 1000 films. The director told an interesting story about Victor Hugo’s deranged daughter. How way of telling it distracted with sudden narratives that detailed plot development. It weakened its pacing. Regardless, it still is of merit. Saw on tubi. See more Logan D May 4 The daughter (Isabelle Adjani) of a famous French author obsesses over a British officer. Early in this film I was ready to dismiss this as the portrayal of an immature woman not willing to take no for an answer. However, I figured since it was Truffaut so it had to have more to it than that. Indeed it does. Once one learns the truth of the mental health issues suffered by Adele one has sympathy for her plight as it's a haunting truth that people do suffer and so did she. This is a biography, not just a drama. Sadly, adequate treatment did not exist for such a person in the late 1800s so the film is also a tragedy. See more Alec B Mar 3 Adjani gives a great performance, as you are sort of disarmed by her at the beginning not realizing that she's barely hiding serious mental illness. I also liked how the other characters ignore her individuality (once people realize she's Victor Hugo's daughter that is all they see) which is why no one realizes she has serious problems before it gets out of hand. See more Isaiah Y Jan 22 Isabelle Adjani’s greatest performance See more Kellie G Dec 24 What looks like a silly obsession is actually mental illness. It becomes more tragic as it unfolds. Isabelle Adjani gives one of the top tier performances among best actress nominations. She is actually even more impressive as Adele’s condition deteriorates . Good costumes and set designs aside it’s Adjani’s performance to watch for but not a film I cared about enough. Still it’s worth a one time watch for the central performance. See more Read all reviews

The Story of Adele H

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