Just saw Jean Paul Salome's 2001 MUMMY-fied adaptation of Arthur Bernede's novel (previously made as a TV mini-series in the sixties with Juliette Greco). A sarcophagus with its name and face scratched away is discovered in an old storage room of the Louvre. X-raying it unleashes a CGI demonic skeleton that infects the museum's electrical system (unfortunately though to no particular detriment other than popping lights, possessed floor waxers, and berserk fountain jets). British archaeologist Glenda Spencer (Julie Christie) is called in to uncover the identity of the mummy. Lisa (Sophie Marceau) who has just lost her grandmother (Patichou), discovers a hole in her apartment building basement made by Louvre construction workers which leads her and comic relief electrician boyfriend Martin (Frederic Diefenthal) into the Louvre after hours. While running from security, Lisa is possessed by the mummy's spirit and starts behaving strangely. Retired police lieutenant Verlac (Michel Serrault) is brought in to investigate the appearances of the "phantom of the louvre" who wears the mummy's ceremonial cloak and mask and is making off with various Egyptian artifacts and using the guards' fears against them. These events resemble incidents that occurred at the Louvre 20 years before (cue digitally augmented black and white footage from the 1965 series). After catching Martin in the museum following Lisa, Verlac determines that the mummy's spirit is using Lisa to find its way to the beyond and Glenda discovers the whereabouts of a missing ring bearing the mummy's name.
If the plot description sounds busy for a 95 minute film, it is. I haven't seen the original mini-series but it does really appear as if a three hour miniseries has been crammed into half the running time. The tone is uneven with the cute relationship between Marceau and Diefenthal ("If you've been treated, I won't go mental but if you're mental, I want to get you treated," Martin says to her in the English version after she tries to kill him during sex) and the geriatric equivalent between Serraut and Christie clashes with the darker aspects of Lisa's possession and the implicitly gory deaths of guards and others who meet Belphegor. The production design is marvelous with some great location shooting on, on top of, and below the Louvre. There is a striking shot of Marceau stepping out onto her balcony to face the Louvre with four cats perched on the gable above her and a shot of Belphegor on the rooftops with the Eiffel tower in the background. Bruno Coulais' electronic/ethnic score (partially recorded in Egypt) is striking and award-worthy and manages to smooth out some of the unevenness of the pacing. On the other hand, the CGI is uninteresting with the demonic skeleton being more comical than scary. Most of Belphegor's gliding seems accomplished by dolly but the occasional CGI movement looks cheap.
Its more interesting than the blockbuster that inspired it and is very nice to look at and listen too but not very substantial. The Dutch DVD is anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) with enveloping 5.1 tracks in French and English (and a 2.0 English option) but no English subtitles (Marceau and Christie dub themselves).
While watching this, I couldn't help but think that if MOTHER OF TEARS was meant to be more mainstream then it should've been more like this. Director Salome's camera points out various Egyptian and Egyptian-inspired statues and artwork throughout Paris - including of course the obelisk in the Place de la Concord - in a manner one would've hoped Argento would've done with the architecture of Rome.