Luc Besson

Arthur and the Invisibles by Luc Besson is an audio book comprising Arthur and the Minimoys and Arthur and the Forbidden City. Frankly I can't imagine reading these as separate books as the break between the two seems arbitrary. Together the two halves tell one complete story — an adventure story about a ten year old boy trying to save his grandmother's farm and a 1000 year old princess trying to save the kingdom.

Arthur is sent to his grandmother's home to celebrate his tenth birthday. His show more parents, though, won't be there as they are in the city looking for work. It's a tough time economically and everyone is suffering. His grandmother, meanwhile, is struggling to keep the house from foreclosure by a greedy land developer.

The grandmother, though, has the money — in the form of a cache of rubies brought back from Africa, and buried somewhere in the garden. Her husband couldn't remember where he had hid them, and now he's gone. The tale of the rubies is tied up with a tale of warriors who are for lack of a better description, like magical Maasai. At their side, they have a companion race (species?) of warriors, called the Minimoy. It is the Minimoy who know where the rubies are hidden.

Through that delightful magical logic of children's fantasy, Arthur finds a way to enlist their help. He comes though at a moment of crisis — they are under attack by M the cursed. And here is where things get interesting.

In the book(s), Besson takes his time recasting the grandmother's garden as a fantasy world with a rich, vibrant culture — very different than Arthur's. Through the world building, the characters come to life and their actions are explained — including the villain's (something often over looked in children's fantasy). show less

Written and directed by Luc Besson and shot in striking black and white by Thierry Arbogast, this riff on "It's a Wonderful Life" attempts to be deep and meaningful but it's unfortunately too contrived and artificial for its own good. Besson plays with some clever symbolism but his approach is undermined by overly simplistic story. The film isn't helped by the two leading actors - Rie Rasmussen and Jamel Debbouze - who fail to convince. The cinematography by Thierry Arbogast is, however, show more astounding. He paints Pairs in wonderful black and white photography that gives the film a beautiful look that makes "Angel-A" a visual delight from beginning to end. show less

A cab driver helps a genetically engineered girl save the world.

A shameless and uninhibited celebration of 1970s and 80s sci-fi artwork and movies. Lots of fun. It pulls off a nearly impossible balance of not taking itself seriously, but also not quite being a comedy. It should never have worked - should have turned out a disastrous, big-budget sci-fi version of Hudson Hawk - but somehow it does work.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: A
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: show more A
Acting: B
Music: B

Enjoyment: A

GPA: 3.3/4 show less

I read the first two books while I was at school. Now, reading the last book as an adult, has made me realise how dysfunctional the romantic arc in the story actually is. The only way for Arthur and Selenia's love to work is for them to be seperated 95% of the time. Product of a commitment-shy culture, perhaps?

I thought the Gorge Lucas cameo ("backstory") was very funny. There was no reason for Besson to put it in but I had to laugh.