Did you people see the same film I saw?

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Blistering performances.

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 year ago, I had never heard of Michel Hazanavicius, Jean Dujardin, or Bérénice Bejo. They became well known to Americans following the release of and Oscar wins by "The Artist" (which is worth seeing). But they had worked on movies before that. One of these was "OSS 117: Le Caire nid d'espions" ("OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies" in English). Dujardin plays a spy very similar to James Bond who investigates intrigue and arms trading in Egypt. Much of the movie makes fun of western attitudes toward the Arab world, and in particular plays on the stereotypes of French men. It's the sort of movie whose purpose is mainly to be funny, and it succeeds. Bejo looks mighty sexy as the spy's contact in Egypt, as does Aure Atika as an Egyptian princess. Whether or not you've seen "The Artist", you're sure to love this one. In fact, watching either one is sure to help you appreciate the other more. Really cool.

Adventures of agent OSS 117, a French colleague of James Bond. Upon hearing about the death of his long-time friend in Cairo, agent OSS 117 (Jean Dujardin) is sent to investigate revolutionary activity and the disappearance of a weapons ship in Egypt. Aiding him is an attractive but unenthusiastic lady assistant (Bérénice Bejo).Unlike the earlier books and movies in the series, this film takes a parodic approach to the character as well as other spy films of the 1960s, notably Connery-era Bonds: a pre-credit sequence, animated opening titles, brass music, faded cinematography and poor rear projection in driving scenes are all there. OSS 117 also takes Bond's characteristics further by being an openly smug and ignorant colonialist. There are many funny scenes, ranging from subtle (implications of OSS 117's homosexuality) to slapstick (using live chickens as throwing weapons). Recommended for spy movie fans.

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.