OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006)

Secret agent OSS 117 foils Nazis, beds local beauties, and brings peace to the Middle East.

Director:

Michel Hazanavicius

Writers:

Jean-François Halin (scenario), Jean Bruce (novel)

Stars:

Jean Dujardin, François Damiens, Khalid Maadour

4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Dujardin	...	Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, alias OSS 117
François Damiens	...	Raymond Pelletier
Khalid Maadour	...	Le suiveur
Youssef Hamid	...	L'imam
Arsène Mosca	...	Loktar
Constantin Alexandrov	...	Setine
Claude Brosset	...	Le patron
Laurent Bateau	...	Gardenborough
Saïd Amadis	...	Le ministre égyptien
Eric Prat	...	Plantieux
Abdellah Moundy	...	Slimane (as Abdallah Moundy)
Philippe Lefebvre	...	Jack Jefferson
Richard Sammel	...	Moeller
Aure Atika	...	La princesse Al Tarouk
Bérénice Bejo	...	Larmina El Akmar Betouche

Storyline

An homage to classic spy films. It's 1955 and after a fellow agent and close friend disappears, secret agent Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, a.k.a. OSS 117, is ordered to take his place at the head of a poultry firm in Cairo. This is to be his cover while he is busy investigating, foiling Nazi holdouts, quelling a fundamentalist rebellion, and bedding local beauties.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | spy | bound and gagged | arms tied overhead | lingerie slip | 

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Taglines:

The Prride of French Intelligence

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Music Box Films [United States] Official site [France]

Country:

France

Language:

French Arabic German

Release Date:

9 May 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies

Filming Locations:

Devant la mairie, avenue Mohamed VI, El Djadida, Morocco

Box Office

Budget:

EUR14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$31,418, 11 May 2008

Gross USA:

$303,543

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$23,041,621

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont, Mandarin Films, M6 Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the DVD extras, the character played by Arsène Mosca was an homage to Peter Lorre; Mosca bears a passing resemblance to Lorre.

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Goofs

When OSS 117 and Larmina are talking about the arms trade on the pier at 9pm, OSS 117 wonders what time it is, looks at his watch and says it is 10 to 7 although his watch show 5 past 8.

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Quotes

[OSS 117 has tied the princess to her bed]
La princesse Al Tarouk: Before you go, you filthy spy, make love to me.
Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, alias OSS 117: I don't think so.
La princesse Al Tarouk: Why not.
Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, alias OSS 117: Don't feel like it. It was the cow joke.

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Connections

References Dr. No (1962)

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Soundtracks

Bambino
(Guaglione)
Music by Giuseppe Fanciulli
Italian lyrics by Nicola Salerno
French lyrics by Jacques Larue
Performed by Jean Dujardin

User Reviews

Shplendid!

Jean Dujardin gets Connery's mannerisms down pat: the adjusting the cuff links when entering a club as all the women turn to admire him, the nonchalant straightening and smoothing down of the tie, the swaggering, steely gait. It's uncanny, and you come to realise just how much of Bond in the Sixties was Connery's creation and not really Ian Fleming's character.

The cinematography is a nod to those early films, the movie takes off From Russia With Love and Thunderball mainly. The main joke is how chauvinistic the hero is, not just in terms of sexism but nationalism and colonialism, and how he puts noses out of joint when he is sent to Egypt.

It's not perfect - about 20 mins in it seems a one-joke movie and bits of it remind one of spoofs of the day, of which there were plenty. Morcecambe and Wise's The Intelligence Men had suspect-looking men in fez's following their heroes around too, and that's going back a bit. Unlike Sellers' Clouseau or Baron Cohen's Borat, Dujardin doesn't give his character that layer of realness or genuine pathos - he is too busy perfecting his Connery mannerisms. It doesn't do enough with the credits or a big song, and there's no funny or serious villain, like Mike Myers' Dr Evil or Ricardo Montalban's Naked Gun nemesis, for the hero to go up against.

But the scene where OSS117 wakes up in Cairo one morning had me laughing out loud in the three-quarters empty cinema, and the whole thing looks wonderful, plus you'll never get a chance to see Operation Kid Brother on the screen, and the women are ace crumpet, really hot. It's a Bond spoof without falling into the mad scientist/Ken Adam sets or funny gadgets routine. Throughly recommended.