Une chance sur deux (1998)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Patrice Leconte

Writers:

Patrick Dewolf (writer)
Serge Frydman (writer)

Release Date:

25 March 1998 (France)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Heist | Rapist | Rescue | Pretty Daughter | Sixty Something

Cast

Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Léo Brassac
Alain Delon	...	Julien Vignal
Vanessa Paradis	...	Alice Tomaso
Eric Defosse	...	Carella
Aleksandr Yakovlev	...	Trenchcoat Killer
Valeri Gatayev	...	Anatoli Sharkov
Michel Aumont	...	Ledoyen
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sandrine Caron	...	Maitre d'hôtel
Véronique Hubert
Luis Jaime-Cortez	...	Angel Vargas
Philippe Magnan	...	Juge prison
M'bembo	...	Maryline
Daniel Millot	...	Brigadier
Marie Neplaz
Bobby Pacha
Olivier Parenty	...	Adjoint Carella
Pascal Perbost
Paul Poggi	...	Mr. Perolaz
Guillaume Rannou
Vincent Roger	...	Le photographe
Jacques Roman	...	Maitre Varinot
Paola Sapone
Vincent Skimenti	...	Paco
Philippe Vieux

Also Known As:

1 chance sur 2 (France) (alternative spelling)
Half a Chance

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Australia:MA (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | France:U | Germany:16 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud)

Company:

Les Films Christian Fechner

Movie Connections:

References Les compères (1983)

Soundtrack:

Happy Birthday to You

The French answer to the Bond series?

Belmondo & Delon, together again, and this time with Vanessa Paradis in tow - or is it the other way round? The basic premise of the film is that Alice Tomaso (Paradis) gets out of jail, and goes looking for Léo (Belmondo) and Julien (Delon), one of whom, it appears, is her father. On the way, she steals the wrong car - one belonging to the Russian mafia, and arrives at her destination with a gang of thugs out looking for her and the car. Mayhem and murder ensue, as Delon and Belmondo compete, not to win the girl, but just for the right to call themselves her father. In the process, they join forces, disrupt the mafia, seize the loot and head of to America for a paternity test.

The whole movie is played for laughs, capitalizing on the James Bond, Naked Gun genre of action comedy, and it works really well. The action is as fast paced, and every bit as far fetched, as any Bond flick. The understated humour, the slick gags and special effects, the subtle dialogue all make this a movie to watch, if you're a Bond fan. You won't be disappointed. On the other hand, if you want your French films to be "arty," deep and philosophical, you'd better go look for a Truffaut or an early Jeunet - you won't find what you're looking for here. This is shallow, it's slapstick, it's silly, and it's fun. Nothing special, just a good evening's entertainment that won't tax your brain (unless you have a problem reading subtitles).