OSS 117 – Lost in Rio

The not-so-secret weapon that makes this po-faced parody of espionage thrillers and French arrogance so lethally funny – and relished in France – is that it lifts its suavely self-enchanted protagonist intact from a series of novels that were widely popular there 50 years ago. Fabled spy OSS 117, aka Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, was the quintessential fictional hero of postwar France, criss-crossing the world to defend his patrie against slippery foreigners of every shade.

Director Michel Hazanavicius and star Jean Dujardin first resurrected this forgotten spy movie franchise in the extremely funny Cairo, Nest of Spies which played less like an Austin Powers movie than a lost relic from a sadly deluded time. Now it's 1967 and it's Brazil's turn. (Source: NZ International Film Festival)

Less