Corto Maltese: The Secret Court of the Arcane (2002)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

"Corto Maltese: La cour secrète des Arcanes" was one of the most beautiful and captivating animated films that I have ever saw. I must confess that I never read the original comics made by Hugo Pratt, but I have heard a lot of good things about them.This movie, unlike many other animated films, is a epic, historical drama, that has all the feeling of any production of David Lean. The character designs are stylish and well made, the animation is fluid and detailed, filled with beautiful colors and pretty sceneries. I loved everything about this film: The animation, the story, the characters, the music...This must be one of the most underrated animated films ever made, I can't believe that it doesn't get the recognition that I deserves. I highly recommend this film to anyone.10/10

Corto Maltese is one of the greatest graphical novel characters, or even literature characters for that matter, ever created. He's an adventurer, a pirate, a murderer and a lover, what ever suits his needs. Or then again he might spend entire story by just watching other people do all the adventuring. Then he just disappears just to turn out from somewhere else.This particular story is from the more action end: Rasputin (Corto's insane Russian friend, who without any doubt is The Rasputin) and Corto are after Russian gold train, but then again so are lots of other people too. This gives a change to display some action scenes and conflicts between Corto and other parts of the story: Chinese, Russians, Mongols.As for all Pratt's stories go, the story line is rather multi threaded, but it's hardly explained in any part, sometimes things just seem to happen and no one is explaining why. But then again there's no real need for that either, it's just the way these stories are told.Animation is mostly well done, there are some parts which are little lacking, especially the human animation is little blocky in some places. All the special effects scenes are done with 3D animation, but they blend in with the painted backgrounds and characters rather seamlessly in most cases. Though there are some places where the difference is too visible.This movie should be a treat for all Hugo Pratt fans, as I myself found it to have same mood that most of Pratt's comics have. I wouldn't mind having more of this.

I am a big Corto Maltese and Hugo Pratt fun and in a way a cinephile. This movie was unfortunately a disappointment. It only captures very small parts of Corto's character and the general mysticism normally surrounding this hero and his adventures. In fact, everyone in the movie seems to have acquired a French attitude and face (incl. the Chinese) and I think only Rasputin is close to the enjoyable and surreal persona of Pratt. The animation is fairly well made but it becomes especially week in times of action. The more dreamy sceneries and scenes were much better. Overall, not a movie that I would see again (despite my love for Corto) but not one that I would totally reject. See it as a homage but dont expect anything breathtaking as the original graphical novel(s).

Whoah.This is a movie that promises a lot from the start: A collision of Russian, continental European and various Asian cultures, political intrigue, James Bond-style antics, religion, martial arts and romance. But in the end, it turns out as a story about... a train robbery. However, it's a wild ride that won't have you looking away from the screen for a second-unless you shy away at occasional violence and nudity...It has to be one of the most visually interesting animated movies ever, not because of the quality and amount of work put in it, which is somewhat below the best Disney productions, but because of how it's used. From the stunning opening shots to the "fantastic-ized" outdoor enviroments, the varied and effectively (un)lit indoor scenes and the buildings, to the creatively directed character interactions, there's barely a few scenes at all that one could imagine being done with live actors at all!This movie is true example of animation as an art form, not reducing itself to an imitation of the real life. No matter what you think about the character designs, which are somewhat stiff, all of them have significant, peculiar mannerisms that would be unthinkable to realize with actors. This attitude, both "retro" and reinventive, is exactly what is needed against the trend of "hyper-realistic" animation that has become prominent in recent years.The other point of this movie is the MUSIC-an absolutely sparkling musical score that sets the perfect mood for each and every scene, except for a overly melodramatic build-up in the epilogue. It's one of the few movie soundtracks that i would try and find and listen to on it's own, because whenever it is heard it really stands out.I recommend anyone interested in creative visuals as found in Japanese films (though certainly not Japanese animation!) to try and see this movie at least once, for the sake of the infinitely creative visual language. European animation is alive and well, certainly, just hope they find a better story for next one...