OSS 117: Le Caire nid d'espions (2006)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Michel Hazanavicius

Writers:

Jean Bruce (certain original characters)
Jean-François Halin (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 May 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime

Plot:

Secret agent OSS 117 foils Nazis, beds local beauties, and brings peace to the Middle East.

Plot Keywords:

Agent | Secret Agent | Nazi | Friend | Brunette

Awards:

4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Jean Dujardin	...	Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, alias OSS 117
Bérénice Bejo	...	Larmina El Akmar Betouche
Aure Atika	...	La princesse Al Tarouk
Philippe Lefebvre	...	Jack Jefferson
Constantin Alexandrov	...	Setine
Saïd Amadis	...	Le ministre égyptien
Laurent Bateau	...	Gardenborough
Claude Brosset	...	Le patron
François Damiens	...	Raymond Pelletier
Youssef Hamid	...	L'imam
Khalid Maadour	...	Le suiveur
Arsène Mosca	...	Loktar
Abdellah Moundy	...	Slimane (as Abdallah Moundy)
Eric Prat	...	Plantieux
Richard Sammel	...	Moeller

Also Known As:

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (USA)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | France:U | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Casablanca, Morocco

Company:

Gaumont

Trivia:

Scenes of this film were shot in Casablanca, Morocco, at the "Habuse", a tourist area with many shops as well as homes, with small alleyways. The shopkeepers were paid a days projected income to close shop for the day. One homeowner's doorway was to be prominently featured, but the man would not step out of his doorway. He was trying to squeeze more money out of the producers. As a result, the crew built a back-drop made with some 2X4's and a Moroccan rug. About 20 minutes later several conservative Muslims staged a sit-in to try to get money. The filmmakers decided to shoot elsewhere in the city.

Goofs:

Continuity: In Plantieux's office, Hubert finishes his glass of bourbon, downing the last of it in one gulp. Yet a moment later, without the glass having been refilled, he again finishes his glass of bourbon in the same manner.

Movie Connections:

References North by Northwest (1959)

Soundtrack:

Bambino

Cute

OSS 117 is another star vehicle for Jean Dujardin, star of the ill-fated BRICE DE NICE. He fairs much better here as Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath than as his own creation, BRICE DE NICE, which was great at the beginning but was painfully unfunny for most of the film. Dujardin is fun as the clueless French espion, if you can tolerate his mugging (some of my friends found it annoying). The comedy is light and breezy but it's not laugh out loud funny. It made me smile but not laugh out.

The best thing about OSS 117 is the look of the film. Shot in Morocco, the production values are beautiful and perfectly captures the early James Bond films with Sean Connery. In fact, one can almost see Dujardin as Bond, if he didn't play it for comedy. Dujardin has star quality and his future in the movies is guaranteed. I can't wait for him to star in something than the average stuff he's doing right now. His break-out role in a break-out movie has yet to come.