OSS 117: Lost in Rio (2009)
"OSS 117: Rio ne répond plus" (original title)

Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, aka OSS 117, is the French spy considered by his superiors to be the best in the business. The year is 1967 - he's been sent on a mission to Rio de Janeiro, to ... See full summary »

Director:

Michel Hazanavicius

Writers:

Jean Bruce (character), Jean-François Halin (screenplay),

Stars:

Jean Dujardin, Louise Monot, Rüdiger Vogler

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Dujardin	...	OSS 117
Louise Monot	...	Dolorès Koulechov
Rüdiger Vogler	...	Von Zimmel
Alex Lutz	...	Heinrich
Reem Kherici	...	Carlotta
Pierre Bellemare	...	Lesignac
Ken Samuels	...	Trumendous
Serge Hazanavicius	...	Staman
Laurent Capelluto	...	Kutner
Cirillo Luna	...	Hippie ''pomme d'amour''
Moon Dailly	...	La comtesse
Walter Shnorkell	...	Fayolle
Philippe Hérisson	...	Mayeux (as Philippe Herisson)
Nicky Marbot	...	Castaing
Christelle Cornil	...	Mlle Ledentu

Storyline

Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, aka OSS 117, is the French spy considered by his superiors to be the best in the business. The year is 1967 - he's been sent on a mission to Rio de Janeiro, to find a former high-ranking Nazi who went into exile in South America after the war. His eventful investigation takes him all across Brazil, from Rio to Brasilia and the Iguazu Falls, accompanied by a charming Mossad agent who is also looking for the Nazi. The man is charming, and so is the young woman. Set to the strains of bossa nova, their tale is by turns an adventure and a love story.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | mossad | brazil | spy | agent | 

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Taglines:

The Pride of French Intelligence Returns

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Gaumont [fr] Music Box Films [us]

Country:

France

Language:

French English Hebrew Portuguese

Release Date:

15 April 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

OSS 117: Lost in Rio

Filming Locations:

Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$10,243 (USA) (7 May 2010)

Gross:

$87,353 (USA) (23 July 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandarin Films, Gaumont, M6 Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Agent OSS 117 (Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath) wears clothes which are inspired and predominantly the same as Paul Newman's Lew Harper in The Moving Target.

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Goofs

In the Nazi party shoot-out, the sculpture of David has his privates blown off by gunfire, but they are clearly in tact during a following scene.

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Quotes

Dolorès Koulechov: You turn me off.
OSS 117: And I don't get it! Explain yourself. I'm a remedy against barbarism, a symbol of...
Dolorès Koulechov: You're old, pretentious, a misogynist, full of yourself, vain, borderline racist, tacky dresser, childish, not funny. Shall I stop?
OSS 117: A tacky dresser?

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Connections

References Vertigo (1958)

User Reviews

Still funny in the same pattern as the first, but lacking the edge and the freshness

OSS 117: Lost in Rio (2009)

Sequels being what they are, this is not quite a match to the original spoof from 2006. But when you have something almost as good as something really terrific, it's still enough. This is enough, for sure, even with the novelty of the situation worn thin.

The main reason is lead actor Jean Dujardin, who continues his parody with aplomb--all the same suave, self-effacing, sexist, racist, ridiculous mix. Instead of Muslims taking the brunt of the jokes, it's Israelis. But the impossibly short skirts and general parading to a male audience is still in place, for better or for worse. And lots of wonderful facial expressions and double-takes.

The rest of the production team is intact here: director, cinematographer, composer. The time period is something like 1968, a few years later than the "Nest of Spies" 2006 version, which is more 1963-ish. So there is an entertaining but less stylish move from "Mad Men" territory (the drinks, the music, the high style) into counterculture territory(most notably the hippie orgy stuff). The hilarious flashbacks of the first movie (on the beach) have been updated to a dramatic but unfunny circus act. And so on. Which is to say, this is a slightly different and slightly less movie.

But, it is still filled with fast, and ridiculous, and comic situations. The cars are great, and Rio is great (it seems to have been largely filmed there, or some impressive CGI stuff is at work). The campy final scenes at the big Jesus statue overlooking the city is purely a Hitchcock spoof (mostly "Suspicion" on the Statue of Liberty with a little "North by Northwest" at Mr. Rushmore). Oddly, this is a kind of parody of something so specific, a kind of post-modern reference, it distracts slightly from the more generic parody that makes up the whole. However, I have to quickly add that it's really well done, very visually astonishing.

So, see this movie if you've seen the first, by all means. If you have a choice (and currently both are streamable on Netflix), I'd start with the start, and then see if you're ready for more. And hang in there because it seems there almost has to be a third. Success is hard to repress.