A.k.a. Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopatre

D/S: Alain Chabat. Book: Goscinny & Uderzo. P: Claude Berri. Cast: Christian Clavier, Gerard Depardieu, Claude Rich, Monica Bellucci, Alain Chabat, Jamel Debbouze. UK dist (DVD): Pathé.

Proof at last that it’s possible to adapt dearly-loved comic-strip characters to a big-screen, live-action format without betraying the style and wit of the original work. A huge hit in its native France, Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopatre seems to have righted all the wrongs committed by its less-than-stellar predecessor, Claude Zidi’s Astérix & Obélix Contre César (1999). Actor/director Alain Chabat was an inspired choice to bring Goscinny & Uderzo’s classic story to the screen, deftly melding the sophisticated (and occasionally Classical) wit of the dialogue with expertly-timed elements of visual farce. It remains one of the most accurate film interpretations of a comic-strip source to date.

The plot takes our warrior-heroes, Astérix (Christian Clavier) and Obélix (Gerard Depardieu) together with magic-potion-toting druid Panoramix (Claude Rich), from their besieged Gaulish village to ancient Egypt, there to assist hapless architect Numerobis (Jamel Debbouze of Amelie) in his thankless task of building a palace to rival the best that Rome has to offer in less than three months, so that Cleopatra (Monica Bellucci) can win a bet with the devious Julius Caesar (Alain Chabat). That’s the pretext for a Zucker Brothers’-style-onslaught of verbal and visual gags encompassing everything from the inconsistencies of French grammar and satirical jabs at contemporary movies (the Titanic gag is a good one), to the long-standing Astérix tradition of elaborate comic names. A few favourites in the latter category: Panasonix, Gieimiakis (=Gimme a Kiss!), Inzemix (no explanation necessary) and (saving the best ’till last) Matthieukassovix! (Gaulish names end in “-ix”, Roman names in “-us”, and Egyptian names in “-is”. Got that? Right, now off you go to create your own.) Linguistic games have always been a mainstay of the original books, and the film adds some amusing wordplay of its own. The native Egyptians of Mission Cléopatre employ the word “Imhotep” as a kind of universal designator, from a casual greeting to a brand of local beverage; the joke is at once a wry observation on idiomatic usage, and a movie reference to Karloff’s The Mummy (1932), nicely illustrating the film’s broad cultural sweep.

CG animation delivers a passable recreation of ancient Egypt, but does a good job too in replicating Uderzo’s visual gags, down to to the way the legionaries’ sandals corkscrew in surprise when their owners are catapulted out of them by a potion-fuelled sock in the jaw. And in case you think that in-jokes, cultural satire and slapstick are all Mission Cléopatre has going for it, think again: fans of the statuesque Monica Bellucci will rejoice at the array of revealing architectural costumes designed for the Italian star in her role as the infamous Empress. Astérix purists may blench at Chabat’s more risqué additions to the canon, but potential vulgarity is avoided with great charm, the cleavage quotient never allowed to exceed the harmless level of an old Carry On and is in any case historically-accurate. Probably.

Pathé’s typically fine French region 2 DVD offers another flawless anamorphic 2.35:1 image and an excellent DD 5.1 surround track; full marks, too, for the Terry Gilliam-inspired menu screens, populated by animated Egyptian stick-men performing comical diagrammatic actions according to the charcoal-and-papyrus drawings of an offscreen architect, whose background mutterings supply an amusing Richard Lester-style commentary. The only glaring omission in the package is the lack of an English subtitle option*, although those with a passable competence in French comprehension will appreciate the inclusion of French subtitles for the hard-of-hearing, which render the often rapid (and pun-laden) dialogue much more readily comprehensible. Actually, the French subs add an extra comic dimension to the film (while strengthening its thematic connection with the B.D. original) by continuing the joke with their own in-character Goscinny/Uderzo-inspired humour: exclamatory bursts of “ancient Egyptian” dialogue are amusingly transliterated with a string of pictorial hieroglyphs, and a kung-fu-movie exchange in Chinese during the climactic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon spoof is likewise subbed with a stream of (one assumes) faithfully-translated ideograms. Highly recommended to fans of Astérix, French cinema or fine comedy in general.
*NB. The later UK DVD release, also from Pathé, rectified this omission; alas, it does not retain the French disc’s hieroglyphic sous-titres.