20131006: Action Review--OSS 117: Cairo

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies

1. Fundamentals and reception:
1. French live action feature length film, 99 minutes, NR, 2006, action-adventure, comedy.  Spoken language is French; subtitles in English.
2. IMDB: 6.9/10.0 from 9,739 users; estimated budget, 14 million euros.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 76% on the meter, 73% liked it from 6,955 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 3.4/5.0 from 110,171 user ratings.
5. Directed by: Michel Hazanavicius; screenplay, Jean-Francoise Halin.
6. Starring: Jean Dujardin as OSS-117, Berenice Bejo as Larmina El Akmar Betouche, Aure Atika as La princesse Al Tarouk, Francios Damiens as Raymond Pelletier.


2. Setup and Plot
1. We meet OSS-117 and his friend Jack (OSS-283) in an opening sequence from World War II.  We meet the Princess also.


2. Years later, Jack is dead, supposedly, and OSS-117 gets drawn into Cairo to see how Jack met his end.


3. Larmina is assigned as his local guide and contact.  The Princess is involved this time around as well.


4. The gag about code sentences goes on and on and on.  The dual conducted with thrown chickens was worth a chuckle.


5. When he finds the object of his investigations, it's...the Nazis the film started with, plus some locals, of course.


6. How will the hero resolve this?  Surprises await.


3. Conclusions
1. One sentence summary: Instead of the French James Bond, one gets a rude, effete Maxwell Smart.
2. Three stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 8/10 Quite good for the most part.


2. Sound: 8/10 I liked the incidental music very much.


3. Acting: 8/10 Played as straight drama, not very good.  Played as parody, reasonably funny.  Definitely a lot of tongue in cheek acting in this film.  Jean Dujardin is quite convincing as the culturally ignorant blowhard OSS-117.


4. Screenplay: 5/10 Dragged.  Much as I liked the three principal actors, it dragged.


5. Editing, continuity: 5/10 Driving in an open convertible, the lead actors don't have their hair mussed, and cigarette smoke rises slowly and vertically?  The late 1950s to 1960's look was fairly good.  In the opening sequence, the propeller plane came across as hokey, rather than authentic.