Crazy women driven to desperate things in the name of love are a soapie staple - you can get months of story out of them with plenty of twists and turns. It's always kind of a jolt to remember that such things happen in real life. This Francois Truffaut film is based on the real saga of Adele Hugo, daughter of the legendary Victor Hugo, who spent a lot of her life chasing a British soldier.
He is Bruce Robinson, a handsome but awkward actor, best known as the writer-director of Withnail and I. Robinson looks the part but isn't very good. It doesn't matter that much as long as Adele is cast well and Isabelle Adjani is stunning in the part. It's a star making a role as say Captain Blood or The Graduate. She's beautiful, haunted, empathetic, touching, mad... It's wonderful.
The film is mostly from Adele's point of view, quoting from real life letters. Truffaut made a lot of films about nutty women and he is very sympathetic for Adele. The fact Adjani is so good looking adds an extra layer - as does the fact Robinson's character is such a prat.
Strong support cast and period detail (location filming in Guernsey and Barbados really helps). A powerful, romantic film.
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