Cecil says: Our first film of 2010 took us to the French Institute for the UK premiere of a French film set mostly in London. This "Spooks"-style plot worked well on the big screen and the plot had us on the edge of our seats throughout. What I don't want to do is spoil the opening by describing the first scenes as, unfortunately, the blurb handed out at the Institut did!
Suffice it to say that the film is about a French baggage handler who gets caught up in a cross-Channel spy and anti-terrorism story; he's done a deal with the French secret services, but also has to work for MI5 AND he gets himself involved on all sorts of levels with a British businessman and his French wife. So, all in all, a study in Anglo-French relations, which is presumably why the Institut were keen to show the film some 12 months after it was released in France.
Guillaume Canet was fantastic as the hapless but canny criminal; his character and his dilemmas totally believable from start to finish. I found the other characters rather cardboard - wooden even - in comparison. Claire, the French lover/wife, seemed implausible, some of her reactions just unlikely; the Syrian businessman (terrorist??) a bit of a caricature; the senior MI5 agent just a little too olde-worlde for the modern-day (Spooks) secret service (and don't you get the feeling he meant to cast Bill Nighy in the role?); and the junior MI5 girl just a bit naive and reckless (and surely she would never have given Vincent her home address?).
The Q & A session with Nicolas Saada (director) afterwards was disappointing (though partly because Bea and I had to leave after 3 questions). Did it really matter that we couldn't see the bus numbers, or that Vincent asked for 'a beer' in the pub; and as for the question about whether the film was making a reference back to the 7/7 bombings...Please!!
***
Bea says: I really enjoyed this fast paced, well-written spy drama - a bit like watching a big screen, film version of an episode of Spooks. If you like Spooks, you'll like this. London was beautifully shot throughout in monochrome grey, with occasional dashes of colour - red of course, but also featuring less usually documented aspects of the city, such as a Bollywood cinema. The plot's central character, being an "ordinary person" was easy to relate to, and although I somewhat agree with Cecil's comment above regarding lack of character development, I could also imagine myself in Claire's shoes - what would I do? A couple of scenes were hard to watch and I had to turn away - not for the faint-hearted this, but a great story, the time flew by and as I was coming down with a cold that evening and really wanted to be tucked up in bed, that is saying something indeed.
***1/2
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Hello, I am the director of SPY(ies) and i am touched by your comment on the film. As you pointed out, I was really discouraged by the Q and A and left the institut thinking that a British audience would not like the film at all. Thnak you for mentioning the film in your blog 8
nsaada@noos.fr
Cecil says: Well, we are honoured to have a comment from the director himself. I am sorry on behalf of UK audiences if the Q&A did not improve even after we left.
Perhaps I can take this opportunity therefore to ask the question I would like to have put, if we had not had to leave early:-
We are guessing that you were inspired by the TV programme Spooks for showing how the British intelligence services work, but how do you know how the French secret services operate, or was your characterisation of the DST agent - who came across as so typically French in some undefinable way - guesswork or based on a French equivalent of Spooks over here?
Cecil, I gave you my email in this short thread. Feel free to use it !
Cecil, Nicolas Saada again. Feel free to send me a message at nsaada@noos.fr
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