Agents secrets

A team of secret agents – Raymond (Sergio Peris-Mencheta), Loic (Ludovic Schoendoerffer), Lisa (Monica Bellucci) and their leader Brisseau (Vincent Cassel) – is assigned by the French Agency in a mission called Janua to sink the general cargo vessel "Anita Hans" in Casablanca. The ship is transporting weapons for the rebels in the civil war of Angola that are using diamonds to pay the dealer Igor Lipovsky (Serge Avedikian). Brisseau and Lisa are advised by an American agent to abort their mission, but their superiors order them to ignore. When the mission is successfully accomplished, Lisa is framed and arrested in the airport with 150 g of heroine. When Raymond is killed, Brisseau realizes that they have been betrayed and he tries to release Lisa from the prison.

"Agents Secrets" is a bitter and realistic original story of manipulation and betrayal, showing the dangerous, lonely and empty lives of secret agents, where the interest of a nation is above any principle of ethics, as Machiavelli observed and wrote in the Fifteenth Century. Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci have excellent lead performances, well supported by a great European cast, and the action scenes are really very impressive. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Agentes Secretos" ("Secret Agents")

I watched this film entirely in French without subtitles with some french speaking friends, as someone with reasonable French skills and still learning, i paid more attention to it than i would with an American film. I understood what was happening. From the start it had the potential to be a good film. Good locations, reasonable camera work, a good cast and some believable action sequences. A proportion of the film was located in Geneva, where i am staying at the moment, which i recognised, so effort was taken to be on location, unlike some films which are filmed in Prague and then set in Paris, Zurich or other European cities. I liked much of the story, the way that the characters interacted with each other and how the plot developed. Nevertheless, i found it disappointing and thought that more effort could have been made to develop the plot and perhaps develop the characters better. The actual action scenes were more brief than i had expected, which was another disappointment, but they were more believable that many in this specific genre. Having watched a number of French and other European films, i believe that they do have an edge over what Hollywood is producing. This film i think would not, i am sad to say. Not i think worth buying. If you rent it on DVD, then rent something else as well at the same time. That would be my advice.

Frederic Schoendorffer directed 4 years ago a great serial killer movie with a realistic point of view, "Scenes de crimes". And now he does it all over again with "Agents secrets", a sharp, always surprising look at the world of spies. Like, a James Bond movie directed by Ken Loach (well, sort of). Of course, when you decide to take a movie genre and break all its rules one by one, it helps to have two major movie stars by your side. Our American friends may not realize how big Vincent Cassell and Monica Bellucci are in France. They're, like, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, only more rebellious and real and glamorous and daring and hip. When you look at their respective filmographies, you know for sure that "Agents secrets" won't be a "Troy" or a "Along Came Polly" (though I do respect and love Brad and Jennifer, their career moves are sometimes, well, surprising). Now, Vincent and Monica are a real life couple and they do not play a couple in "Agents secrets", but two spies who pretend to be a couple on a mission that will go awfully wrong. Don't expect too many visual effects here : the suspense is intensely psychological and the cast does deliver, even though the screenplay sometimes doesn't (to be honest, the story is not always clear). When I saw the movie, most people in the audience were very angry by its ending. Without giving it away, I can tell you it is daring : the director wanted to make a movie about the extraordinary life of ordinary people who have no choice, once they've chosen such a lifestyle, but to live this way till they die. Their whole life is a mission, and it has no end.

This movie offers several spectacular shots (free-falling, swimming against the sunset, scuba-diving, car flip / crash, etc), locations (France, Switzerland, Morocco, Spain) and means of transportation (cars, boats, subway trains, planes, helicopters). The production values are certainly very polished. But the director takes an overly detailed approach to storytelling - there are quite a few scenes that go on longer than necessary. The thrills are limited: a car chase ends almost as soon as it begins, and a fight between Cassel and a Spanish female assassin (Najwa Nimri) is shot in such tight close-ups that you literally can't see any of the moves. As for the insights into the spy business ("We're not asking her to collaborate with us; we're asking her to obey our orders"), they're not exactly groundbreaking stuff. The intense Cassel and the dazzling Bellucci are interesting people to look at, but for the most part this spy thriller is too dry - and the ending is poor. (**)

good casting doesn't mean that a movie is good. it only win in fame but not the audience/spectators.

good casting isn't the important element of a good movie. good work from actors and good story plot is.

== Monica bellucci, irreversible's Alex, is pretty ... so this film emphasize on selling her...and her husband, vince (vincent cassel) is her couple agent.

like irreversible, like brotherhood of wolf, only sell this popular couples...remember that, good cast, popular girl (Monica bellucci) is not enough, but only a good storyline is.

to conclude, there is nothing good to be remembered here. Bad film.

not a good actress, pretty actress can hold all spectators, if your storyline is as good as frighteners, yeah it can hold many many spectators! but this movie only sells the vincent cassel couples! only sell these 2 ppl isn't enough. Monica is pretty but if we only want to see her beauty, Malena/Bro. of wolf/irreversible can satisfy us.

remember, pretty actress isn't the only point for a movie to win.

can you all see matrix 2 and 3? though the hi-tech wins but it is boring than matrix 1, why? because ppl there only emphasize on the tech used there, but not improve the storyline. so it lose when compared to matrix 1!

To conclude on matrix series, it tells that..."good casting isn't everything, good storyline is(find the right actors)"!