After the surrender of France in World War 2 there were essentially two factions within the country with far different agendas. The first group was known as the Free French and they were determined to continue the war against Germany any way they could. The second group consisted of those in the Vichy government who sought to mitigate the worst impulses of the Nazis by ostensibly working with them to a certain extent. At least, that is what many of these people tried to do. Unfortunately, some of them were viewed as traitors to France and were labeled collaborators in spite of the fact that it was difficult to determine the exact reasons why people acted the way they did. It was a complicated time. Be that as it may, this film essentially begins in 1967 with a top French official receiving a ransom note from a former Nazi official by the name of "Professor Von Zimmel" (Rudiger Vogler) demanding 50,000 Francs in exchange for a list on microfilm containing the names of several collaborators within the French government. The demand also stipulates that they want OSS Agent 117 "Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath" (played by Jean Dujardin) to deliver the money to them in Rio de Janeiro. Realizing the damage this information could have within certain branches of the French Government they agree to pay the ransom immediately. However, upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro, OSS Agent 117 meets members from the Mossad who propose a mutually beneficial arraignment which stipulates that they will help him get the microfilm while at the same time they capture Professor Von Zimmel and take him back to Israel to stand trial for his war crimes. Hubert agrees but what he doesn't realize is that Professor Von Zimmel has an ulterior motive for requesting him. Likewise, Hubert also doesn't know that his mission is going to become even more difficult due to the Chinese sending assassins to kill him for an incident that happened a little while earlier. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say I was pleasantly surprised at how well this comedy turned out as it was, in my opinion, even more humorous than its immediate predecessor. I especially liked the performance of Jean Dujardin who played the role of a bumbling and incompetent spy to near perfection. In any case, I recommend this film for those looking for a comedy of this type and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.
Review of OSS 117: Lost in Rio
