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entertaining u newspaper: your monthly guide to entertainment
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Bourne Ultimatum
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Seen, Heard, Noted & Quotedd
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by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
B Rated R 91 min
A mystical encounter begins this artsy black and white French film, written and directed by Lou Besson. It’s about a petty criminal, Andre (Jamel Debbouze), who is threatened by shylocks over his large debt. He sees no way out, so he climbs over the rail of a bridge and is about to jump when he sees a beautiful young woman, Angela / Angel A (Rie Rasmussen), also ready to jump. She jumps first then Andre jumps to save her. Thus begins a strange tale of an angel sent to help Andre turn his life around. At first, Andre doesn’t believe she is an angel, but she makes objects levitate and he is finally convinced.
The leggy blond Angela looks like a street-walker in an ultra-short black dress, but Andre’s well being is her sole mission. So she uses her sexual allure to make money so Andre can pay his debts. He thinks she is turning tricks but she is only pretending to get men into a bathroom where she knocks-out her mark and takes his money. Andre is a small unattractive man who is annoyed by Angela’s tactics. Still, she starts to grow on him as they go around to different clubs getting money from unsuspecting men who think they’re going to have sex with her.
Toward the end of the film there is a twist that changes the story. However, the big unanswered question is – how did a little man who has a reputation for being a deadbeat deserve this striking beauty’s help? While he was waiting to jump, he asked for God’s help and suddenly Angela appeared. Still, he is an unlikely candidate for celestial intervention.
Debbouze portrays Andre with humorous overtones as he and his tag-a-long angel take in the nightlife of Paris. By now, Andre is falling in love with Angela, as she acts as his guardian angel. Thanks to Angela, he is flush with cash, so what does he do–pay off his debts? No, he places a bet on a “sure thing” horse race. Of course he loses, but Angela forgives him. Of course, the viewer is thinking wow, Andre is a real loser who doesn’t deserve an angel’s help.
Besson created a parable about these two characters who come from separate universes, but who come together and, in an inexplicable way, become compatible mates. Angela doesn’t remember her life on earth, and she can only concentrate on her mission to somehow save Andre from himself, although viewers will feel he isn’t worth her efforts. There are some surprises that change Andre’s fundamental philosophy of living hand-to-mouth on the streets. Now, he has Angela to think about and, although she is an angel, he worries about her safety. For the first time in his life, he is thinking about the welfare of another being, albeit a spirit in the flesh.
The two characters chat it up about mundane concerns. Over their time together, Andre has shown signs he can change, but here again, his character is skin deep, with limited intellectual ability. Angela seems completely naive about the physical reality, but she does have special powers and can render anyone unconscious just by the wave of her hand. When Andre is confronted by street thugs, she mows them down with one finger.
Besson’s use of black and white is pretentious in the context of this film. It wasn’t necessary for the artistic focus of the film. Besson’s screenplay is dialogue heavy and character driven, so the scenes could have been in color without affecting the overall creative concept. Since the scenes were shot in the early morning hours, before the city awakened, Besson’s mosaic paints an abandoned city except in the all-night clubs where Andre and Angela cruise to make money under the pretense of Angela’s prostitute act.
The film was shot in 2005 and is just making it to wide release in the States. For foreign film buffs, this is an intriguing French film that is so different, it’s memorable. The dialogue is in French with English subtitles.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
