Angel-A

The last time Luc Besson directed a movie, was back in 1999. The last six years he occupied himself with his production-company EuropaCorp and by writing a lot of screenplays. Now he's back with his 9th feature film, ANGEL-A. This time no gunfights, car-chases or explosions. Nope, this time the man brings us, of all things, a romantic comedy. The movie is completely shot in Paris and seems to be one of the most secret projects of French cinema. Honestly, I can't see why, except maybe for a nice plot-twist which is presented to us halfway through the movie and not, as usual, near the end.

The plot (don't worry, no spoilers): André is a regular swindler. He lies and cheats all the time and owes money to almost every criminal in Paris. After being beaten and threatened for the umpteenth time, he decides to kill himself by jumping off a bridge. On the verge of committing this act of despair, while standing on a bridge, he looks to the left and sees a girl about to do the same thing. When she jumps, he jumps after her and saves her from drowning. She's so thankful that she offers to do anything he wants while constantly remaining at his side. Suprisedly, she turns out to be a real life-saver by finding a lot of dubious ways to earn money and pay off André's debts. After a while André wants to know why she's doing all these things for him and is curious about her past...

Jamel Debbouze (you might know him as the slightly retarded grocer's assistant in LE FABULEUX DESTIN D'AMÉLIE POULAIN) is particularly good as the nervous André. The Dannish Rie Rasmussen, a sexy blond goddess with legs that go all the way, takes a little more time to convince as Angela. However, there is a certain chemistry between the two of them. The other characters are merely caricatured portraits of criminals and gangsters.

The story is rather straightforward and relies a lot on funny situations and dialogues. A lot of talking is being done and I must say most of the lines are well-written. Near the end of the movie, unfortunately, Luc Besson goes way over-the-top, making the movie lose a lot of credibility. But then again, it just might be possible that the end could be interpreted in two different ways. And that makes me suspect that Besson likes to play it safe by trying to please as many viewers as possible.

Anyway, a very important reason to watch this movie is the atmospheric black & white-photography by cinematographer Thierry Arbogast, who also worked on Besson's previous films. Paris, during autumn, is beautifully transferred to the screen with well-balanced lighting. The movie also has some impressive shots of 'la Tour Eiffel', a cathedral in 'le XVe arrondissement' and the many bridges to be found in Paris.

Most likely ANGEL-A will have as many defenders as adversaries, not necessarily to be divided in Besson-fans and not-fans respectively. But both parties will have to admit Besson had the guts to try something different. So let the box-office decide whether this genre-effort is successful or not.

This film made me shed a tear or two (but then I am an emotional soul!). The comedic aspects, such as the total physical difference between the leads and the strength of the Angela were well placed. The reason for Angela coming into the life of Andre and her true identity could have been very tactlessly handled and cheesy in a Disney kind of way, but Besson made it seem as natural as catching a bus. Subtitles normally irritate me, but I didn't seem to notice them in this film. Paris in black and white is also very evocative and the filming was great in my opinion. I would recommend this film to anyone who fancies a fairly short film that makes you think about whether you appreciate your inner beauty and qualities.

It is very unlike other films, Luk Besson is related with, very few action, lots of dialogs. Not one of the kind you'll enjoy in breaks between portions of popcorn. This movie really touched me with it's honesty. It made me understand little bit more about myself, about the way i treat other people. Not everyone will like it. If you are looking for Taxi-style action - here you won't find anything alike. It's all b&w, and very bright at the same time, 40s style footage. It is about nature of human being, about those weak and strong, about good and evil. It teaches how to love yourself, but without being egoistic. Ant maybe the best thing is, it doesn't only rise a question, but it tries to answer it within the same hour and a half - unlike many movies of this kind (hollywood influence ;)

Besson's intention by directing this movie was good. There is, it seemed to me, a big effort to make his film deep considering the discourse. It can be perceptible through the plenty of plays with symbols that are contained in it. The main problem is that by writing such dialogs, certain scenes seem too artificial and often too long. This has to be added to the fact that if you see the film in french, you"ll quickly notice that the dialogs that often concern both J Debbouze and Rie Rasmussen are more than sometimes incomprehensible and require a permanent attention to decipher them. Rie Rasmussen, even if she's quite a wonderful creature on a physical aspect, is however an average actress and the scenes that deal with emotions are spoiled -this is rather surprising considering Besson's job on The Professional- by a clumsy actor's direction. However cinematography by Thierry Arbogast is astounding and foreigners will find a wonderful black and white postcard of Paris as they'll see the movie. It is also regrettable that Besson didn't appeal to Eric Serra for the soundtrack. For Besson's defense, it must be said, I think, that his staff and himself have worked in such constraining circumstances to shot in Paris that the number of shots was counted and couldn't allow actors to give their full potential. This is the first time also that a director has full access to production and budget resources by himself so he can write a screenplay that does not have to be selected by instances like CNC allowing himself to direct a personal but too poorly "collaborative" project. Anyway, this is a film that has definitely to be seen.

A sweet and unusual love story. Impossibly mismatched couple that work really well. Beautifully filmed and directed as one would expect from Besson. Definitely a piece of retro noir art but with style over substance.

Well worth the watch for a movie with a difference.