OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
| OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies | |
|---|---|
French promotional poster
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| Directed by | Michel Hazanavicius |
| Produced by |
Éric Altmayer Nicolas Altmayer |
| Written by | Jean-François Halin Michel Hazanavicius |
| Based on |
OSS 117 character by Jean Bruce |
| Starring |
Jean Dujardin Bérénice Bejo Aure Atika |
| Music by |
Ludovic Bource Kamel Ech-Cheikh |
| Cinematography | Guillaume Schiffman |
| Edited by | Reynald Bertrand |
| Distributed by | Gaumont |
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Release date
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Running time
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99 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language |
French Arabic |
| Budget | $14 million |
| Box office | $37.8 million |
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies released in France as OSS 117 : Le Caire, nid d'espions, is a 2006 French spy comedy film directed and co-written by Michel Hazanavicius in his feature film debut. It stars Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, and Aure Atika. Set in 1955, the film follows the exploits the 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.
Cairo, Nest of Spies is based on the OSS 117 novel series by Jean Bruce, but acts as a parody of the spy genre rather than a faithful adaptation, and depicts OSS 117 as an idiotic Frenchman with close-minded views on race, religion, and gender roles. A sequel, OSS 117: Lost in Rio, also directed by Hazanavicius and starring Dujardin, was released in 2009.
The main plot starts with the disappearances of an OSS agent, Jack Jefferson, and a Soviet cargo ship in Cairo. Agent OSS 117 is sent to investigate the events, since he and agent Jefferson share a history, shown in a short opening sequence and in flashbacks throughout the film. OSS 117 stumbles into a web of international intrigue, that involves the French, the Soviets, the British, separate factions of Egyptians, a goofy Belgian spy and even a splinter group of the Nazis from the beginning.
Throughout the film the main character has two main romantic interests. The first is an Egyptian princess Al Tarouk, who can't resist the charms of OSS 117. The second is the former assistant of Jack Jefferson, Larmina El Akmar Betouche, who at first shows no interest in the main character - and in fact temporarily becomes a secondary villain due to OSS 117's continued crass statements about her religion - but warms up to him in the end.
Hubert has woken up, having beaten up the muezzin during the night as he couldn't sleep with the noise.
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Wikipedia