OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006)

I'll tell you why so serious

Fantastic!

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This was a solid debut for Hazanavicius and a very fun film. There's uneven pacing, but I was very pleased with this, which seemed an interesting hybrid between the James Bond and Pink Panther film series. I loved the scoring and cinematography as well. Dujardin's character was a bit strange and the pacing was a tad uneven, but those are small flaws. This is the first of Hazanavicius' films I have seen, though I have 'The Artist' on blu. I've heard that in the sequel, he jumps a decade to the 60's--it would be interesting, if they decide to eventually continue the series, if each film could be of following decades, straight through to the present day. It was clever of the writers, through parallelism, to subconsciously suggest a linkage of the Nazis to radical Arab terrorists, so soon after 9/11, and, six years before 'Skyfall', what anyone knowing anything about espionage and counterintelligence would undoubtedly know--that all agents would probably be bisexual. I look forward to checking out Hazanavicius' other films, and hope there are eventually more in this series, for I have loved all kinds of spy films and spoofs of them, in the history of cinema.

A spoof on James Bond about OSS operative stunningly performed by Jean Dujardin . Comedy spy-thriller with Jean Dujardin as inept secret agent versus nasty high-ranking Nazis and arms smugglers . Secret agent OSS 117 foils Nazis , beds local beauties , and brings peace as well as mayhem to Cairo . It's 1955 by time of dictator Nasser and the secret agent Hubert Bonisseur De la Bath, a.k.a. OSS 117 is ordered a dangerous investigation in Cairo , there he has to take his place at the head of a poultry firm . Hubert Bonisseur is the French spy considered by his superiors to be the best in the business , this time his assistant is the charming Egiptyan agent Larmina performed by Berenice Bejo , director's wife . He's been sent on a mission to El Cairo , Port Said , to look for a former agent who has been eliminated . His eventful mission takes him all across Egypt accompanied by a beautiful girl and taking on a lot of adventures , risks and double-crosses . The man is charming , and so is the young girl spy . Filmed on luxurious sets their tale is by turns an exciting intrigue and a love story . He acts as a playboy , this results to be his cover while he is busy investigating , foiling Nazi holdout and bedding local beauties . Hubert Bonisseur De la Bath, a French spy, is in Cairo to investigate the disappearance a French agent . He is he smart spy , or is he an imbecile ? He fights well but he's supremely smug and self-confident, even as he's deaf to cultural nuance and others' feelings , so the odds are even that he might survive .Funny moments along with embarrassing in this first entry about secret agent OSS 117 with a likable Jean Dujardin , role of the accidental spy who doesn't know fear or danger in this comedy spy-thriller . In this entertaining adventure , the most unlikely intelligence officer in French Secret Service must stop a group of international Nazi conspirators , quelling a fundamentalist rebellion and deal with an intrigue about weapon smuggling . Hubert Bonisseur, a French secret agent who dreams of rising beyond his menial job within the OSS organization, after all the other agents are bumped off is hired to discover a mysterious ring . With one shot at redemption, he must employ all kind of means to unravel a web of conspiracy that runs throughout an ambitious plot . Hubert must use every trick in his play-book to achieve his objectives . For Hugo Bonisseur, disaster may be an option, but failure never is. This original installment is an acceptable comedy though the formula is well known with 'The Pink Panther' series and recently with 'Johnnny English' by Rowan Atkinson . It stars clumsy Jean Dujardin as one man show accompanied by a gorgeous Berenice Bejo . The movie gets entertaining and hilarious moments here and there. This slapstick picture contains amusing , funny scenes , fresh and diverting moments but also flaws and gaps . Jean Dujardin steals the show parodying the ordinary international secret agent , James Bond-alike , including his ordinary faces , grimaces and gestures ; he plays stunningly the highly unorthodox agent, the inept and bungler secret agent from OSS . There appears two beauties as Berenice Bejo and Aure Atica . The actors seem to enjoy themselves immensely giving funny interpretations . Lively and atmospheric music by Ludovic Bource . Colorful and glimmer cinematography by Schiffman . Other films about this famous spy are the followings : "O.S.S. 117 Is Not Dead" with Ivan Desny ; "Panic en Bangkok" with Kerwin Mathews ; "OSS 117: Mission for a Killer" with Frederick Stafford ; "OSS 117 Double Agent" played by John Gavin and "Vendetta of espies" performed by Luc Merenda . The film was well penned and directed by Michel Hazanavicius that maintains the slapstick franchise . He also directed in similar style to the original film a sequel titled ¨OSS 117 Lost in Rio¨ with Jean Dujarjin , Rudiger Vogler and Louise Monot . Director and actors , Dujardin and Berenice Bejo , will repeat in the successful and recent ¨The artist¨ including Golden Globes and Oscars . Several chuckles and gags , the result of which is one acceptable entry on spoof genre . The flick will appeal to comedy buffs and Jrean Dujardin fans .

My vote: 7.5/10. I really liked this movie! Jean Dujardin plays very well the french spy. There was very good comedy, very good costumes, very good casting...etc. It was well done. I really recommend it. I saw it on DVD not so long ago. Myself, I would like to become an actor because I am a real fan of films! I liked the fights and how the characters were behaving on their actions. Love is included as well for the spy, ouuuuuuu!!! It is set in a good time. The end was excellent!!! I especially loved the scene where the french spy wears new clothes and sings kind of bambino music to other people! It was such a good, cool music!!! It is the kind of comedy, that I think people will probably love! It is too funny to be true, believe me! I really laughed a lot and had great fun while watching it!!! The actors are magic! Thank you for your attention!!! Constantin

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies is a brilliant satire of the 60's spy movies, not just James Bond, but the many European entries, as well. Jean Dujardin is wonderful as Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, aka OSS 117. OSS 117 was a literary spy from a series of French novels, which predate James Bond. In the novels, he was an American from Louisiana, who worked with the wartime OSS and post-war CIA. Here, he is pure French, with all of the connotations of the 1950's: chauvinistic, pompous, patronizing, clueless, and suave. He begins his mission to Cairo, to uncover the reasons behind the disappearance of another agent and friend. What he finds is a chicken warehouse, Egyptian revolutionaries, Nazis, a missing Soviet ship, femme fatales and a flair for singing in Arabic.The film has great sight gags, including a running gag involving chickens and light; a chicken fight that has to be seen to be believed, rear screen projections that take one back to the 60's, a bit of homo-eroticism, and an argument with a muezzin, over a loudspeaker. Hubert is so clueless, he actually believes everyone would treasure a picture of failed French President Rene Coty.This is great fun, with far more subtle wit than Austin Powers. It has playful fun with the trappings of the Connery Bond films, as well as the style of film-making in that era. Like Austin he is totally clueless, but unlike Austin, he is charming and sophisticated. It reminds you of what used to be great about the Bond films, while gently (or blatantly) nudging them for their colonialism and undercurrent of racism.If you love cool spy films of the 60's, you'll have fun with OSS 117. I can't wait for the DVD release of the sequel, set in Rio.