Circa 2002, several French and Italian production companies and TV channels joined forces to create an animated series of shorts and features based on the adventures of popular Italian comic book character Corto Maltese, a laconic adventurer and former sea captain who travels all across Europe and its colonies as well as Asia, South America and other places during the 1910s and the 1920s and witnesses first hand the many horrors and atrocities that the brutal bloody history of the early 20th century had to offer, from World War I to various civil wars and communist and other revolutions. This is why the comic book was (and still is) very popular in Europe, but is virtually unknown in the US.
Every story has a basic formula - Corto is hired, convinced or has reasons of his own to go to a certain exotic location where treasure, people or mystery await, but gets caught up in local infighting on the way there and becomes a witness to history. With the help from the people he meets along the way, he eventually reaches his goal, only to discover that the trip was more interesting than the destination. This time, however, Corto takes things into his own hands straight away and things get much more personal for him.
Corto himself is a trustworthy tall, thin, slick, charming man with very sentimental and laconic view of life, who easily makes friends and can handle himself in most fights, although on occasion he does act brash and bites off more than he can chew. Corto has no problems with violence or killing when deemed necessary, but he is disturbed by death and pain of the innocents. He often tries to help those oppressed or in need he meets on his journeys, which often gets him into serious trouble. However, he never fights lost battles and has a distinctive sense of self-preservation, as well as lots of acquaintances and luck. The ladies are often attracted to his charm, attitude and willingness to take action, but also to his slight naiveté that sometimes they and even some of his temporary allies try to take advantage of. However, Corto is no James Bond and while he often cares about his female companions in a platonic way, he rarely beds the girl, unless he's actually interested in her. Girls get to play important roles for Corto here as well, save for the first out of the three stories.
One could call him the European Indiana Jones, although Corto, as a fan of poetry and art, has only superficial knowledge of archeology, kills somewhat more indiscriminatingly, often waxes poetic and his world is much more adult, dramatic and darker than Indy's with little to no magical, fantastical or sci-fi elements.
The tree stories presented here all have the unique quality of being a good material for a short as well as a feature film. Each of them focuses on just one part of the formula that makes most of Corto's adventures and perfects it. This gives the movie a semblance of a thematic three-part structure even though the stories are not interlinked in any way. The first short about Corto's search for El Dorado focuses in a brutal yet subversive way on the final part of the formula - the cynical futility of a seemingly profitable endeavor that can easily turn into a nightmare. In a way, this story is also a comment on fate and the ways people deal with it (another theme close but not pleasant to Corto). The second story about the deadly game of political corruption Corto becomes involved with in Honduras focuses on his contact with people and the profit and the problems it brings. The third and perhaps his most controversial adventure out of all of his animated endeavors focuses on his involvement with the local issues and politics when Corto decides to help his friends (who happen to be members of the IRA) fight the Brits. Although Corto gets himself involved with several historical political issues along the course of his adventures, almost all of them are long gone history today, but the IRA and the British presence in Ireland are issues that are still present in public discourse even today to an extent. Although Corto clearly supports the Irish independence here, seeing it as just another rebellion against colonization, the main reason why he's doing what he's doing here is not really politics, but his loyalty to his Irish friends who just happen to be members of the IRA. This theme of loyalty thematically wraps up all these elements of a Corto formula.
Most Corto's adventures are like a cross between an old b&w Hollywood epic adventure combined with the sensibilities of a serious historian. Although Corto's feats may seem ridiculous at times, the locations he visits and the events he witnesses are presented in a highly atmospheric, quite brutal and often realistic way with a touch of comical, while the slow depressing intensity of the adventure never dissipates. The stylistic brooding conservative art design is quite atmospheric, very faithful to the comic and the animation looks less cheep than it is. You'd never guess the films were partly animated in North Korea (no joke).
In the end, the potential controversy that the IRA storyline may stir up, the risky ending of the El Dorado episode that may not sit well with some, and the fact that the elements of a true Corto experience are split here in three separate story lines, makes this a less than ideal introduction to Corto's adventures, but it is a decent (if highly episodic) Corto adventure, nonetheless.
The movie is available on DVD and has English audio track, which is not the best, but it gets the job done. You can also get "Corto Maltese - Collector's Edition" that's in English and contains all of Corto's animated adventures.
Every story has a basic formula - Corto is hired, convinced or has reasons of his own to go to a certain exotic location where treasure, people or mystery await, but gets caught up in local infighting on the way there and becomes a witness to history. With the help from the people he meets along the way, he eventually reaches his goal, only to discover that the trip was more interesting than the destination. This time, however, Corto takes things into his own hands straight away and things get much more personal for him.
Corto himself is a trustworthy tall, thin, slick, charming man with very sentimental and laconic view of life, who easily makes friends and can handle himself in most fights, although on occasion he does act brash and bites off more than he can chew. Corto has no problems with violence or killing when deemed necessary, but he is disturbed by death and pain of the innocents. He often tries to help those oppressed or in need he meets on his journeys, which often gets him into serious trouble. However, he never fights lost battles and has a distinctive sense of self-preservation, as well as lots of acquaintances and luck. The ladies are often attracted to his charm, attitude and willingness to take action, but also to his slight naiveté that sometimes they and even some of his temporary allies try to take advantage of. However, Corto is no James Bond and while he often cares about his female companions in a platonic way, he rarely beds the girl, unless he's actually interested in her. Girls get to play important roles for Corto here as well, save for the first out of the three stories.
One could call him the European Indiana Jones, although Corto, as a fan of poetry and art, has only superficial knowledge of archeology, kills somewhat more indiscriminatingly, often waxes poetic and his world is much more adult, dramatic and darker than Indy's with little to no magical, fantastical or sci-fi elements.
The tree stories presented here all have the unique quality of being a good material for a short as well as a feature film. Each of them focuses on just one part of the formula that makes most of Corto's adventures and perfects it. This gives the movie a semblance of a thematic three-part structure even though the stories are not interlinked in any way. The first short about Corto's search for El Dorado focuses in a brutal yet subversive way on the final part of the formula - the cynical futility of a seemingly profitable endeavor that can easily turn into a nightmare. In a way, this story is also a comment on fate and the ways people deal with it (another theme close but not pleasant to Corto). The second story about the deadly game of political corruption Corto becomes involved with in Honduras focuses on his contact with people and the profit and the problems it brings. The third and perhaps his most controversial adventure out of all of his animated endeavors focuses on his involvement with the local issues and politics when Corto decides to help his friends (who happen to be members of the IRA) fight the Brits. Although Corto gets himself involved with several historical political issues along the course of his adventures, almost all of them are long gone history today, but the IRA and the British presence in Ireland are issues that are still present in public discourse even today to an extent. Although Corto clearly supports the Irish independence here, seeing it as just another rebellion against colonization, the main reason why he's doing what he's doing here is not really politics, but his loyalty to his Irish friends who just happen to be members of the IRA. This theme of loyalty thematically wraps up all these elements of a Corto formula.
Most Corto's adventures are like a cross between an old b&w Hollywood epic adventure combined with the sensibilities of a serious historian. Although Corto's feats may seem ridiculous at times, the locations he visits and the events he witnesses are presented in a highly atmospheric, quite brutal and often realistic way with a touch of comical, while the slow depressing intensity of the adventure never dissipates. The stylistic brooding conservative art design is quite atmospheric, very faithful to the comic and the animation looks less cheep than it is. You'd never guess the films were partly animated in North Korea (no joke).
In the end, the potential controversy that the IRA storyline may stir up, the risky ending of the El Dorado episode that may not sit well with some, and the fact that the elements of a true Corto experience are split here in three separate story lines, makes this a less than ideal introduction to Corto's adventures, but it is a decent (if highly episodic) Corto adventure, nonetheless.
The movie is available on DVD and has English audio track, which is not the best, but it gets the job done. You can also get "Corto Maltese - Collector's Edition" that's in English and contains all of Corto's animated adventures.