L'Histoire d'Adele H (1975)
(The Story of Adele H, French with English subtitles)
Seen on 22 October 1997 for $8 at Symphony Space (part of a double feature with *Vanina Vanini*)
Perhaps what is most shocking about this movie is its statement that "this story is true." Adele H is Adele Hugo, the daughter of French poet and novelist Victor Hugo, one of the most famous men of his time. Having read a bit about the true story, it is interesting to actually see its dramatization.
The story begins in 1863 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Adele (Isabelle Adjani) arrives looking for that object of her affection, Lt. Albert Pinson, who is stationed there as part of Her Majesty's armed forces. The two met on the Channel Island of Guernsey, where her father lived in exile after Napoleon III overthrew the French Republic.
Albert, a ladies' man, gets more than he bargained for when he trifles with Adele's heart. She is determined to get him to return her affections. She goes by a pseudonym, living as a boarder of the kind Mrs. Saunders (Sylvia Marriott), and using it as a base for her machinations. There is very little Adele will not put herself and ALbert through--spying, blackmail, public humiliation, even procuring young women for Albert if he will not have her.
At night, Adele paces the floors and prays to a shrine with Albert's photo enclosed within. She rapidly deteriorates as she pursues Love as religion. It is painful to watch her beg Albert "Keep me!"
Adele suffers a complete identity crisis. She is named after her (living) mother; her father is larger than life. Making matters worse is the drowning death of her sister Leopoldine, the family favorite. A desire to make an impression and stand out as an individual in such a family would be understandable; but the depths of her tragedy are unimaginable.
Adele Hugo's diaries were not discovered until the 1960s. She wrote in her own secret language of her obsessive desire to make the Lieutenant love her. It is easy to see why Francois Truffaut would be so fascinated that he would make a movie about it.
It is also easy to see why Isabelle Adjani won a Cesar for her performance -- it *is* the movie. It is hard to believe that the beautiful young woman we first see coming off the boat is the bleak spectre that unravels before us. Her obsession blinds her to the many kind people around her and the family imploring her to come home.
*L'Histoire d'Adele H* is not always that easy to find on video or on TV, so getting to see it for the first time as it was originally intended--in its cinematic glory--was a real treat.
More movie reviews by Seth Bookey, with graphics, can be found at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2679/kino.html
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