Agents secrets (2004)

Director:

Frédéric Schoendoerffer

Writers:

Yann Brion (writer)
Jean Cosmos (writer)

Release Date:

31 March 2004 (Belgium)

Genre:

Crime | Action | Thriller

Plot:

Moles threaten to foil a team of secret agents' plan.

Plot Keywords:

Casablanca | Framed | Posing As Husband And Wife | Female Nudity | Spy

Cast

Vincent Cassel	...	Brisseau
Monica Bellucci	...	Barbara / Lisa
André Dussollier	...	Colonel Grasset
Charles Berling	...	Eugène
Bruno Todeschini	...	Homme maigre en civil
Sergio Peris-Mencheta	...	Raymond
Ludovic Schoendoerffer	...	Loïc
Eric Savin	...	Tony
Serge Avedikian	...	Igor Lipovsky
Gabrielle Lazure	...	Véronique Lipovsky
Najwa Nimri	...	Maria Menendez
Simón Andreu	...	Maître Deligny
Clément Thomas	...	Homme de main 1
Rosanna Walls	...	L'amie de Maria Menendez
Jay Benedict	...	L'Américain

Also Known As:

Spy Bound (Hong Kong: English title) (Singapore: English title)
Agentes secretos (Spain)
Secret Agents (International: English title)

Runtime:

France:109 min

Country:

France | Italy | Spain

Language:

French | English | German | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Germany:16 | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Casablanca, Morocco

Company:

La Chauve Souris

Trivia:

The first part of the movie takes inspiration of the Rainbow Warrior case that has been slightly adapted. Events are transposed in Casablanca and the sabotaged boat carries weapons instead of environmental militants.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Colonel Grasset mentions that Lipovsky was born in "Riga, the capital of Estonia". In reality, Riga is the capital of Latvia, Eastonia's real capital is Tallinn.

Manipulation and Betrayal in the Dangerous, Lonely and Empty Lives of Secret Agents

A team of secret agents – Raymond (Sergio Peris-Mencheta), Loic (Ludovic Schoendoerffer), Lisa (Monica Bellucci) and their leader Brisseau (Vincent Cassel) – is assigned by the French Agency in a mission called Janua to sink the general cargo vessel "Anita Hans" in Casablanca. The ship is transporting weapons for the rebels in the civil war of Angola that are using diamonds to pay the dealer Igor Lipovsky (Serge Avedikian). Brisseau and Lisa are advised by an American agent to abort their mission, but their superiors order them to ignore. When the mission is successfully accomplished, Lisa is framed and arrested in the airport with 150 g of heroine. When Raymond is killed, Brisseau realizes that they have been betrayed and he tries to release Lisa from the prison.

"Agents Secrets" is a bitter and realistic original story of manipulation and betrayal, showing the dangerous, lonely and empty lives of secret agents, where the interest of a nation is above any principle of ethics, as Machiavelli observed and wrote in the Fifteenth Century. Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci have excellent lead performances, well supported by a great European cast, and the action scenes are really very impressive. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Agentes Secretos" ("Secret Agents")