Corto Maltese: La cour secrète des Arcanes (2002)

At the end of 1918 while civil war is raging on in Russia, antagonism is slowly spreading to the East, between the Oural mountains and Shanghai. Stuck between a desire to save what's left ... See full summary »

Director:

Pascal Morelli

Writers:

Natalia Borodin, Hugo Pratt (graphic novel "Corto Sconta dette Arcana"),

Stars:

Richard Berry, Patrick Bouchitey, Barbara Schulz

Cast

Credited cast:
Richard Berry	...	Corto Maltese (voice)
Patrick Bouchitey	...	Raspoutine (voice)
Barbara Schulz	...	Changaï Li (voice)
Marie Trintignant	...	La Duchesse Marina Seminova (voice)
Frédéric van den Driessche	...	(voice)
Marc Chapiteau	...	Semenov (voice)
Maxime Leroux	...	Nino (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hervé Bellon	...	Tchang (voice)
Philippe Cotten	...	Tippit (voice)
Emmanuel Curtil	...	Barrow (voice)
Patrice Dozier	...	Longue Vie (voice)
Jean-Michel Dupuis	...	Von Ungern (voice)
Paule Emanuele	...	Mme Hu (voice) (as Paule Emmanuele)
Sébastien Fromanger	...	Une Oreille (voice)
Bô Geste	...	(voice)

Storyline

At the end of 1918 while civil war is raging on in Russia, antagonism is slowly spreading to the East, between the Oural mountains and Shanghai. Stuck between a desire to save what's left of the great Imperial Russia, and starting from a clean slate, old generals, secret organizations, and mercenaries attracted by gold, struggle to take advantage of the events. As Corto Maltese returns to Shanghai, he barely gets time to cross paths with his old friend/nemesis Raspoutine, and escape a murder attempt before being contacted by members of a Chinese secret organization called "The Red Lanterns". In the heart of violent Mandchourian horizons, Corto and Raspoutine launch themselves into a fabulous treasure hunt, following the tracks of the mysterious armor-plated train of Koltchak. A steel monster spiked with canons and machine guns, this trains protects the counter-revolutionaries gold, traveling through Mongolia, and! Mandchouria. While following the bloody trail of this doomed train, ...

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Plot Keywords:

train | gold | secret organization | prostitute | siberia | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

France Italy Luxembourg

Language:

French

Release Date:

25 September 2002 (France)

Also Known As:

Az elveszett aranyvonat fosztogatói

Filming Locations:

Cuba

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, Ellipse Animation, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Corto Maltese - Sous le signe du capricorne (2002)

User Reviews

It's in FRENCH, but it looks pretty =)

Granted, I don't speak French, so I won't be able to comment on the plot, but I got a fair idea of what it's about. The visuals range from fairly impressive to mundane - some of the film is obviously rendered (hand drawn over the rendering) but overall, "it looks good." It has its own style, very reminiscent of the comic book, which is pretty cool. The French voice acting is well done, as is the cinematography - the movie is very moody, but never dull. The various scenes have a lot of atmosphere, especially sequences with infrequent or no dialogue - just very well done and spooky sound effects. I'll have to see it again with English subs to decide how worthwhile it is, but for the visuals alone, I'd suggest seeing it.