"The Very Extraordinary Voyages of Saturnin Farandoul in the 5 or 6 Continents of the World and in All the Lands Known or Even Unknown to Mr. Jules Verne"
Written and illustrated by Albert Robida
I'm sorry if this write-up reads like a 3rd-grade report based on reading the "Classics Illustrated" comic book. The only material that I have been able to turn up on the Robida work is an online link displaying the Robida's illustrations at the beginning of every chapter. And everything is in French. That's not much help in deciphering a film that is available commercially only from Italy and has Italian title cards!!!
But with the help of a coworker friend raised in French Canada, repeated viewings of the film, etc. I have been able to puzzle out a little.
Albert Robida was way more famous in France than he ever was here. Nonetheless, he is recognized as one of the forerunners of s.f. / fantasy illustration. Often his illustrations were accompanied by his own text. This was the case of one of his lesser works ..."...Saturnin Farandoul..." ...which he created in 1879.
Robida's work parodied several of Verne's works as chapter by chapter Saturnin travels from Oceania to The Americas to Africa to Asia to and finally to Europe. Saturnin definitely does not have a boring life!! He is raised by ape-men on an island after losing his parents at sea. His travels seemingly take him to Australia, amongst the Mormons, Patagonia, Cairo, Siam, Japan, the North Pole, and finally in a happy ending back to the Island where he was raised. Along the way, Saturnin apparently meets up with several of Verne's characters: Captain Nemo ("20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "Mysterious Island"), Hector Servadac ("Off on a Comet") and Phileas Fogg ("Around the World in 80 Days").
The film mostly follows Robida's work but the timing of events seems juggled. In any event, the action is very haphazard.
The film's first half is easier to figure out. After being raised to an adult by the Ape-men, they abandon him (I guess that after all this time they realize he is "different"!). He builds a craft and leaves the island. Saturnino is picked up by vessel which is then attacked by pirates and they are hijacked. Saturnino helps the crew escape and it appears he is chosen their leader. Later, he is seen diving with his girlfriend Misora (in a shot that reminds me of Verne). She is swallowed by a whale and brought inside the whale to a Melbourne aquarium. Amazingly, the whale spits her up. The director of the aquarium (one Prof. Croknuff) has made a world-famous discovery!! Saturnino demands her back. Croknuff refuses to turn over his find. Saturnino forms a combination ape-man / human army and forces her rescue. Croknuff suffers an ironic death from one of the aquariums monsters
I'm still working out the second part. Here are some of the highlights:
- Saturnino and friends pursue the White Elephant in Siam.
- They encounter an Amazonian army.
- Saturnino and Misora save two captive women natives by shootings bears, doning the bear skins and scaring away the captors!
- Saturnino fights off lions
- And (why, I don't know!!), Saturnino battles it out in the air with Phileas Fogg!!This is one obscure, wild and wooly film. This film in a lot of ways is very reminiscent of George Melies. Parts of it (especially the balloon battle with Fogg) remind me a bit of Karel Zemen's work. I love it all, though.
Through it all, I still have tons of unanswered questions: "How do all of the Verne characters figure into Robida's work?" and "How much of Robida was adapted into the film?" are at the top of the list.
written: 1/22/2002
