Actors - The Story of Adele H.

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	Actors - The Story of Adele H.

The Story of Adele H. (also L'Histoire d'Adèle H.) is a 1975 English/French film which tells the story of the real-life Adèle Hugo, the daughter of writer Victor Hugo, whose obsessive unrequited love for a naval officer led to her downfall. The film is based on her diaries. It stars Isabelle Adjani, Bruce Robinson and Sylvia Marriott.

The movie was adapted by Jan Dawson, Jean Gruault, Frances Vernor Guille, Suzanne Schiffman and François Truffaut. It was directed by Truffaut.

Synopsis

The film tells the story of Adèle Hugo, the second daughter of Victor Hugo, who, devastated by the accidental death of her elder sister Leopoldine. Hugo is living in exile on the island of Guernsey where Adele meets and is seized by an obsessive love for a British officer, Lieutenant Pinson. She follows him to Halifax, Nova Scotia and Barbados, West Indies and gradually degenerates as she realises her love is unrequited. She descends into madness, despair and eventually, suicide.

Director's comments

About the film, Truffaut wrote:

:"In writing the script of 'L'Enfant sauvage' based on the memoirs of Dr Jean Itard, we discovered, Jean Gruault and myself, the enormous pleasure of writing historical fiction based on real events, without inventing anything and without altering documented facts. If it is difficult to construct an unanimistic intrigue involving a dozen characters whose paths entwine, it is almost as difficult to write an animistic film focusing on a single person. I believe that it was this solitary aspect which attracted me most to this project; having produced love stories involving two and three people, I wanted to attempt to create a passionate experience involving a character where the passion was one-way only."

Film locations

Many of the scenes were shot on location in St Peter Port,Guernsey, and many of the film extras were well-known locals. Both Sir Raymond Falla and Sir Cecil de Sausmarez were, at the time, prominent island politicians.

Cast

Isabelle Adjani
: Adèle Hugo
Bruce Robinson : Lieutenant Albert Pinson
Sylvia Mariott : Mrs Saunders
Joseph Blatchley : Whistler, bookseller
Ivry Gitlis : Hypnotist
Ruben Dorey : Mr Saunders
Clive Gillingham : Keaton
Louise Bourdet : Victor Hugo's servant
Sir Cecil de Sausmarez : Mr Lenoir, notary
Sir Raymond Falla : Judge Johnstone
Roger Martin : Dr Murdock
Jean-Pierre Leursse : le scribe noir
Carl Hathwell : Pinson's subaltern
François Truffaut
: officer (uncredited)

Awards

Isabelle Adjani
was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress
in 1975.
:fr:Prix Méliès, French award, for best film in 1976.

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