OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
Theatrical release poster
FrenchOSS 117: Le Caire, nid d'espions
Directed byMichel Hazanavicius
Written by
  • Jean-François Halin
  • Michel Hazanavicius
Based onOSS 117 character
by Jean Bruce
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGuillaume Schiffman
Edited byReynald Bertrand
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byGaumont Columbia TriStar Films
Release date
  • 19 April 2006 (2006-04-19) (France)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryFrance
Languages
  • French
  • Arabic
Budget€14.1 million[1]
($15.2 million)
Box office$23.1 million[2]

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (French: OSS 117 : Le Caire, nid d'espions) is a 2006 French spy comedy film directed and co-written by Michel Hazanavicius in his feature directorial debut. Starring Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, and Aure Atika, the film has been widely praised for its cinematography, editing, and score.[3] Set in 1955, the film follows the exploits of a French secret agent, Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath/OSS 117, as he is sent to Cairo to investigate the disappearance of his best friend and fellow spy Jack Jefferson, only to stumble into a web of international intrigue.

While set in Cairo most of the filming was done in Morocco. Hazanavicius' set pieces were carefully constructed and added to the movie's general level of geographic, as well as time period authenticity. The energetic fight sequences between Dujardin and his long cast of assailants, as well as a heart stopping catfight between the film's two leading ladies were meticulously choreographed.[3][4]

The movie is based on author Jean Bruce's fictional character Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, an American military officer of French descent, formerly employed by the Office of Strategic Services and then the CIA, who operates as a secret agent in France. OSS 117 reimagines the character as a French spy working for the French intelligence agency Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage.

Bource (left), Hazanavicius (second from left), Bejo (center), Dujardin (third from right), and Schiffman (second from right), reunited for the 2011 Academy Award winning film The Artist

Bruce's original OSS 117 starred in over 265 novels and seven films through 1970 and while the films were presented as straightforward spy thrillers, OSS 117 acts as a parody of the spy genre and depicts OSS 117 as a Frenchman who is "culturally insensitive, chauvinistic, and thoroughly moronic...[but] somehow manages to slide through outrageously dangerous situations unscathed, time and again."[5] often with great, if unintentional humor.

A sequel, OSS 117: Lost in Rio, also directed by Hazanavicius and starring Dujardin, was released in 2009. Two years later, both Hazanavicius and Dujardin would win Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Actor, respectively, as part of a five Academy Award sweep for the highly acclaimed 2011 film The Artist. Dujardin was the first French actor to receive the Academy Award for Best Actor and The Artist was the first French produced film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

A third installment of the series, also starring Dujardin, OSS 117: From Africa with Love was released in 2021 but was directed by Nicolas Bedos.

  1. ^ "OSS 117: Le Caire nid d\'espions (OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies) (2006)". JP Box-Office (in French). Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  2. ^ "OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b Acula, Doc. "OSS 117: The Spy Who Loved Himself". Bad Movies. Retrieved 3 February 2024. -- (translated from German)
  4. ^ Rudden, Liam. "Introducing... The French Film Festival". Edinburgh Evening News. ProQuest 327780510.
  5. ^ Southern, Nathan. "OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies". AllMovie. Retrieved 31 January 2024.