Tintin and I
Encyclopedia
Tintin and I is a 2003
documentary
by Anders Høgsbro Østergaard, about Belgian
writer-artist Georges Remi, better known as Hergé
, and his creation Tintin
. The film is a co-production of Denmark
, Belgium
, France
, and Switzerland
.
The film is based around Numa Sadoul
's revealing interviews with Hergé from the 1970s, and goes into detail about Hergé's life and how the success of Tintin affected it.
The film is based strongly around Hergé's experiences and state of mental health leading up to the writing of Tintin in Tibet
, often heralded as Hergé's most personal album. The history of Tintin is examined through Hergé's life and the way that he was affected by the growing popularity of his character.
The underlying theme of the film would appear to be the way that Hergé's, or rather Georges Remi's, private life affected his work; for example, Bianca Castafiore
is a subconscious (or perhaps conscious) reflection of Georges' first wife, Germaine, and the way that Captain Haddock
responds to her reflects the way Georges often felt towards his wife. Specifically, the mothering instinct that Germaine had toward him is shown most explicitly in The Castafiore Emerald
. The subject of religion is also discussed, including Georges' gradual disillusioned view of the Catholic church, and the opposition he came up against due to Wolff's sacrifice in Explorers on the Moon
. The influence of Chang on Georges' work is also highlighted, using reconstructed footage and actual archive footage of their meeting in 1981.
Technically, the film employed an interesting choice of graphic effects to "re-animate" video footage of Hergé speaking, to match up with the audio being played (from the interviews conducted with Sadoul). Panels from the albums were also animated to allow movement through them, the plane crash from Tintin in Tibet
and the Shanghai street scene from The Blue Lotus
both being used in such a manner. Interviews are reconstructed using actors, but the viewer never sees their faces; hands and arms are used, holding the albums, flicking through them, drinking tea and the like.
It has been shown and will be shown again on BBC Four
.
, an interview with Gérard Valet, a short film called The Secret of the Clear Line and a menu-based Hergé biography.
2003 in film
The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
by Anders Høgsbro Østergaard, about Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
writer-artist Georges Remi, better known as Hergé
Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
, and his creation Tintin
Tintin (character)
Tintin is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Tintin is the protagonist of the series, a reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog Snowy....
. The film is a co-production of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
The film is based around Numa Sadoul
Numa Sadoul
Numa Sadoul is a French writer, actor, and director, who has been a resident of France since 1966....
's revealing interviews with Hergé from the 1970s, and goes into detail about Hergé's life and how the success of Tintin affected it.
The film is based strongly around Hergé's experiences and state of mental health leading up to the writing of Tintin in Tibet
Tintin in Tibet
Tintin in Tibet is the twentieth title in the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin, written and drawn by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Originally serialised from September 1958 in the French language magazine named after his creation, Le Journal de Tintin, it was then first published in book...
, often heralded as Hergé's most personal album. The history of Tintin is examined through Hergé's life and the way that he was affected by the growing popularity of his character.
The underlying theme of the film would appear to be the way that Hergé's, or rather Georges Remi's, private life affected his work; for example, Bianca Castafiore
Bianca Castafiore
Bianca Castafiore, the "Milanese Nightingale", is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
is a subconscious (or perhaps conscious) reflection of Georges' first wife, Germaine, and the way that Captain Haddock
Captain Haddock
Captain Archibald Haddock is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
responds to her reflects the way Georges often felt towards his wife. Specifically, the mothering instinct that Germaine had toward him is shown most explicitly in The Castafiore Emerald
The Castafiore Emerald
The Castafiore Emerald is an album in the classic comic-strip series The Adventures of Tintin by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero....
. The subject of religion is also discussed, including Georges' gradual disillusioned view of the Catholic church, and the opposition he came up against due to Wolff's sacrifice in Explorers on the Moon
Explorers on the Moon
Explorers on the Moon, published in 1954, is the seventeenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. Its original French title is On a marché sur la Lune...
. The influence of Chang on Georges' work is also highlighted, using reconstructed footage and actual archive footage of their meeting in 1981.
Technically, the film employed an interesting choice of graphic effects to "re-animate" video footage of Hergé speaking, to match up with the audio being played (from the interviews conducted with Sadoul). Panels from the albums were also animated to allow movement through them, the plane crash from Tintin in Tibet
Tintin in Tibet
Tintin in Tibet is the twentieth title in the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin, written and drawn by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Originally serialised from September 1958 in the French language magazine named after his creation, Le Journal de Tintin, it was then first published in book...
and the Shanghai street scene from The Blue Lotus
The Blue Lotus
The Blue Lotus , first published in 1936, is one of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums written and illustrated by Hergé featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. It is a sequel to Cigars of the Pharaoh, with Tintin continuing his struggle against a major gang of drug...
both being used in such a manner. Interviews are reconstructed using actors, but the viewer never sees their faces; hands and arms are used, holding the albums, flicking through them, drinking tea and the like.
It has been shown and will be shown again on BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
.
DVD releases
In Australia, Madman Entertainment released a DVD version of Tintin and I was released in 2007, packaged with I, TintinI, Tintin
I, Tintin is a Franco-Belgian film which premiered in the Paris cinema as a feature presentation in 1975. Made in semidocumentary style and mixing interviews with Tintin creator Hergé with real historical events and news stories edited together with animated Adventures of Tintin clips, narrated by...
, an interview with Gérard Valet, a short film called The Secret of the Clear Line and a menu-based Hergé biography.