A mid-life crisis in the well-known Gallic village: right at the beginning, Asterix, the strapping warrior, has a hard time brooding. Couldn’t it have repercussions, always swallowing this druid’s magic potion, which gives you the necessary clout against all opponents, especially the superior strength of the Roman legionnaires? It also worries him that he can only achieve his triumphant strength with this magic potion, unlike his friend and comrade-in-arms Obelix, who, as is well known – and can actually be seen here in a flashback – fell into a cauldron with a magic potion as a child.
Julius Caesar, so convinced of himself, is reminiscent of the French President
The corona pandemic has left its mark in “Asterix & Obelix in the Middle Kingdom”, the fifth Asterix film – with real actors, without animation. The shooting was delayed due to the restrictions, a shoot planned in China at the original locations had to be canceled and relocated to Morocco. The two Gauls are supposed to save the Empress of China from scheming courtiers. As expected, there are no current attacks on today’s People’s Republic, its politics and politicians. Instead, China impresses with the combative suppleness of its women and with the huge crowds that even Julius Caesar’s army can’t compete with in the end. After Gottfried John, Alain Chabat, Alain Delon and Fabrice Luchini, he is now portrayed by Vincent Cassel, casual and flippant and stubborn and a little self-absorbed, reminiscent of the current French leader.
“Asterix & Obelix in the Middle Kingdom” is the first historical film by Guillaume Canet, who was successful as an actor and as a director has so far staged psychological thrillers or bourgeois melodramas. He obviously feels very comfortable in the new genre and has also taken on the role of Asterix himself. Also Marion Cotillard and Gilles Lellouche, who played several times in Canet’s films, are there, Cotillard as Caesar’s lover Cleopatra, who experiments with skirt lengths and texts with carrier pigeons. Lellouche as Obelix takes over from Gérard Depardieu, who was Obelix four times, he’s pleasantly reserved next to the – the midlife crisis! – high-speed Asterix. Through the roof is their motto, and at their best they have the mischievous elegance of Stan & Ollie.
The beauty and success of Goscinny/Uderzo’s volumes are based on their pointed snapshots, which is lost in the movement of the images. So Canet’s film is at its best when devoted to supporting characters. He is very diverse, not only as far as the roles of the Chinese are concerned, there are also singers and rappers among the Gauls, and as a legionary antivirus you experience the footballer Zlatan Ibrahimović, who can be celebrated by his fans in his very own way. Canet fondly quotes film history – when Caesar first tastes opium, memories of Morricone/Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in America” are evoked; On a crossing, two people who love each other find themselves at the bow of the big ship – whose captain is called Titanix, played by the singer Orelsan. He wants to continue the journey after landing, because “the earth is round”. The invincible Gauls suddenly find themselves on the verge of a serious defeat at the end, which is like a crisis for the genre as a whole.
Astérix et Obélix: L’Empire du Milieu, 2023 – Directed by Guillaume Canet. Book: Guillaume Canet, Julien Hervé, Philippe Mechelen. Camera: André Chemetoff. Music: Mathieu Chedid. With: Guillaume Canet, Gilles Lellouche, Vincent Cassel, Marion Cotillard, Julie Chen, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pierre Richard. Leonine, 112 minutes. Theatrical release: May 18, 2023.