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

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 | Sequel

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 | Germany:12

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

Hilarious and Irreverent

I just saw this film last night, and I have to say that I loved every minute. If taken in the spirit of a parody of Bond-esquire films, it's truly superior. The true comedy of the film is in its blatant disregard for political correctness. The misogyny, cultural insensitivity, and almost laughable macho-ism of the films of this genre are used for major comic effect. It also calls the illogic and formulaic elements to task, with Agent OSS 117 constantly learning difficult things insanely quick (such as Arabic and how to play a traditional instrument) while missing some pathetically obvious clues. Some of the lines from the film left me laughing for hours after the movie was finished...and I have to say I have learned some...interesting...French vocabulary that would probably have my Professors quite exasperated with me were I to use. All in all, I thought this film excellent. Intensely funny and the first film I've ever seen that truly parodies all aspects of the spy film.