OSS 117: Lost in Rio
Directed by Michel Hazanavicius
- crime
- action
- comedy
The story
In 1967, OSS 117 is sent to Brazil in order to retrieve a microfilm list of French Nazi sympathizers, only to once again unknowingly set foot into a bigger international intrigue.
What it’s like
Bright, saturated 1960s colour with sun-bleached Rio beaches, lurid Technicolor interiors and the flat, overlit look of a spy-thriller pastiche, all framed in sharp, deliberately stagey compositions that hold on a joke until it lands. The score is a brassy, bossa-tinged swing layered over jaunty stings, and the dialogue delivers a steady stream of cheerfully outdated remarks, so the sound feels as knowingly retro as the image. The mood is breezy, mischievous and self-satisfied, a warm, slightly absurd comic spirit rather than real suspense; it suits a lazy afternoon, a comfort-watch with friends, or a light night in when you want to laugh at a suave, clueless hero. The pace is brisk and episodic, with each set piece played for a gag, and the arc follows a vain, oblivious agent who keeps misreading the world around him, with the humour resting on his blithe prejudices. Violence is mild and cartoonish, with brief scuffles and slapstick, and sexual content is suggestive but never explicit. It is for viewers who enjoy broad satire of spy movies and old-fashioned cool, and who don't mind a hero whose charm is mostly his own confidence.
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