Abenteuer in Rio

Jean-Paul Belmondo died recently,* so I decided to watch one of his most famous movies. What an experience! "L'homme de Rio" ("That Man from Rio" in English) has just about everything! Obviously, the movie borrowed a lot of stuff from Tintin books, but isn't all art borrowed from something or other? Philippe de Broca's Academy Award-nominated movie is a great romp from start to finish. I suspect that, had Françoise Dorléac not died a car wreck at the age of twenty-five, she would've gone on to become just as great an actress as her younger sister (Catherine Deneuve).

Anyway, a fun movie with some great shots of Rio de Janeiro. And is that soundtrack to die for or what?

*As it happened, Belmondo died right after I saw his movie "Leon Morin, Priest".

This movie is one of the best adventure movies I have ever seen. As a twelve-year old I used to watch it at least once a week on our (to that time) brand new VCR. I think it is the best acting of Belmondo and one of the best actings I have ever seen. An absolutely awesome movie. Pure adventure made in France. Sometimes you can see that Hollywood is not the non-plus-ultra in moviemaking!

Honest script, great locations, a very young Jean-Paul Belmondo and a very beautiful Françoise Dorléac. An effective Jean Servais in a role that is confirmed to be negative only in the second half of the film. A very young Adolfo Celi, great actor, prematurely gone too. And a very young Daniel Ceccaldi, in an unusual role for him. The stunts of Jean-Paul Belmondo are executed by... Jean-Paul Belmondo. For the first time in a movie, he makes his own stunts (at the risk of losing his life...) To be seen anytime again and again!

A film that can be watched many times and one that has been a family favorite of ours for years. While the plot may not be that sophisticated, Belmondo is remarkable and the pace of the film is perfect for the light-comedy/action genre. If you don't speak French, the film is still a wonderful treat with subtitles. The theme song in Portuguese is haunting and memorable.

I'm glad I finally searched for this movie here at IMDb. I have only seen this movie twice on TV, and that was a long time ago, but it's unforgettable. Can you buy it at any of the big retail chains? Every week older movies are restored and reissued on DVD, so hopefully this one has or will be in the future. I will be very glad when I own a copy.

If my memory serves me right, this movie had everything: foot chases, car chases, shootouts, locations around the world, a beautiful sidekick, airplane sequences, parachuting into the jungle, a massive bar fight, stolen relics leading to a mystery cave, crazy stunts and all very entertaining and fun to watch.