In Theaters This Weekend: OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies

I know I've nearly talked this to death, but it's so cool that the French Eurospy revival OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies is getting released theatrically in America that I want to do my best to spread the word. Bond fans, Eurospy fans and comedy fans all should be sure to check this one out. Thanks to Music Box Films, the 1950s set retro spy flick will open in select cities today, with a wider rollout over the next few weeks, finally making its way to DVD in the fall. Michel Hazanavicius' clever, loving parody debuts today, May 9, in New York, Seattle and several California locations (including the Nuart Theatre in LA). Be sure to check out the nifty official website which features the trailer, stills, games and a brief history of Jean Bruce's literary creation, OSS 117.

Jean Dujardin (looking suitably Connery-ish thanks in part to Guillaume Schiffman's slick Sixties-style photography) plays an impossibly self-assured, pompous French secret agent who gives all Westerners a bad name in jet-age Cairo. The company's press material accurately describes the film as "a blithe and witty send-up not only of spy films of that era and the suave secret agent figure but also neo-colonialism, ethnocentrism and the very idea of Western covert action in the Middle East."

That's a pretty good description of this farce, which manages the neat trick of being both smart and slapstick at the same time.

Read my full review of OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies here.

Here is the full release schedule for the film. Dates are still subject to change, so it's a good idea to check your local listings, as they say, before driving an hour to go see it!

May 9

Landmark Sunshine (NY)
Landmark NuArt (LA)
Landmark Lumiere (San Francisco)
Landmark Shattuck (Berkeley)
Landmark Varsity (Seattle)
Rafael Film Center (San Rafael)
Regency South Coast Village (Santa Ana/Costa Mesa)

May 16

Landmark Kendall (Boston)
Landmark Ken Cinemas (San Diego)
Laemmle Playhouse 7 (Pasadena)
Cinema 21 (Portland)

May 23

Landmark Uptown (Minneapolis)
Landmark E Street (Washington DC)

May 30

Landmark Century Centre (Chicago)

Landmark Ritz (Philadelphia)