Information:
Title: (Angel-a)
Certificate: (15: UK, 15: IRE)
Released by: (Optimum releasing’s Optimum world brand)
Run Time: (88 Minutes: PAL)
Colour: (Black&White)
Origin: (France)
Language: (French)
Subtitles: (English, pre-rendered)
Vintage: (2005)
It’s been some serious time since I last graced my readers if indeed I have any with my thoughts in regards to a film from the roads that are currently called “Europe”. I actually Wrote a small preview of this film way back last July, was at the time my second posting onto eMagi, it was all too blunt. Anyway I’m here today to Review a film known as “Angel-a”, so called because one of the lead characters is called “Angela” and is in fact an angel. This film written and directed by French Film legend Luc Besson grabbed my attentions before it had even arrived in the cinemas on this fair island, but until now I’d not seen it, why was I waiting?
We’ll start in the place that I move often start which is the plot of the film. The Film stars Jamel Debbouze as swindler André, A Moroccan with a US Green card who is stuck in Paris with no papers and several larges debts to various nasty types. With these criminal elements on his case and with no help from the US embassy (Not surprising?) or the French police André decides that the only solution to his problem is the leap into the Seine to his watery and tragic death, I’m reliably informed from wikipedia that this bridge which he intends to leap from is the Pont Alexandre III. As he turns his head up to the heavens as so many bridge jumpers do he is joined on the side of the bridge by a woman who will later be known as Angela, a woman who has supposedly joined him in his quest for some watery death. André, being like any other closet Casanova promptly saves Angela from this watery death. This is where the real story beings as Angela endeavours to save André from his mountain of debts and anxieties as well.
This is in fact the first film to be directed by Luc Besson for about seven years or so, now I’m sure everyone knows who Luc Besson is; I doubt there is a person who hasn’t at least heard a bit about his films “Léon” and “The fifth element”. If I’m being honest I’d have the say that Besson directed, produced and written films have been on my list of favourites for quite some time and I doubt they will leave that list for an absolute lifetime.
The Music of the film does interest me and in search I’ve managed to ascertain that the music was indeed produced by Anja Garbarek, Daughter of European jazz legend Jan Garbarek. This went a long way into explaining to me why I liked the music so much and indeed adds a good deal of prestige to the mixture of Romance and sophisticated supernaturalism. It is actually quite relaxing for me to enjoy a film with this level of Romance and Music as it does wonders for my neurotic personality.
The Cinematography of the film has been done by Thierry Arbogast which isn’t by any means a good start as Arbogast’s previous attempts at this job have resulted in the much lamented “Catwoman” staring Halle Berry in 2004, fortunately I don’t think that had much to do with Arbogast’s skills as Angel-a is a perfect piece of cinematography and indeed I’d say good enough to be used as an advertisement for Paris.
I stated in the earlier section that Jamel Debbouze of Indigènes (Days of Glory) Fame is the lovable Moroccan “André” but I didn’t state who played Angela who must be said to be more important considering she’s the title character, partly because I forgot to put it in and am too lazy to rewrite it, actually that’s the whole reason so I should just get on with it because it’s pointless to continue padding out the review with useless information. Rie Rasmussen is the model come actress in question, now when I was watching the film I thought she was very, very tall; in fact it’s Debbouze who is very small, standing in at 1.65m compared to Rasmussen’s 1.78m. Rasmussen isn’t the best of actresses but who cares when she looks that beautiful in Black and white wearing than dress? Incidentally, Debbouze is actually not bad as an actor and I do hope to watch Indigènes when it finally is released on this Fair Isle.
It doesn’t seem to me to have won or indeed been nominated for any kinds of awards which seems more than a shame considering its amazing visual style and story, I lament that films of this kind are considered only to be a film for the experimentalists and world cinema buffs as I genuinely think that Angel-a would be of considerable interest for anyone who likes light and fluffy films with a bit of vodka thrown into the mix. And, yes I did use three variations of the word “Consider” above.
Now we’ve entered that stage of the review process which involves my opinions of the films I review, I actually do like this film more than most people would think I would when you take into account the fact that it is a love story in which a Moroccan who thinks America is the be all and end all of human existence falls in love which an Angel come down from the all to fictitious “Heaven” to save him when he decides to chuck it all in. The first problem of it is the assumption in three world countries that America is the best country in the world to live in, This in my opinion is not the case but since I’ll be axed if I went too far with this I’ll just say that Claiming to be an “American” when confronted with Gangland types living in Paris whether they happen to be French of indeed Spanish in origin. But then Claiming to be an “Arab” anywhere these days is probably a lot worse…
Despite all of that I enjoyed this supernatural romance film mainly because the lead actress is so beautiful and indeed because Besson knows how to make a decent film unlike all of those Hollywood mugs working towards a goal of endless orgies and orange skin, that is not orgies of food though as most of them can’t eat more than 4 grammes of food per year. I know many people if you ever get the information will be annoying me on the subject of how I can call Rasmussen beautiful when she lives in America, something that should be the deathblow to any actress. She is though of Danish origin and speaks French, which balance her credit in the black for me. And considering that my Sardines are of Moroccan origin, André’s nationality I’ll think of it as a good omen.
I have been for the most part joking about in the last two paragraphs so maybe it’s time to say something serious about Besson’s work. It is no doubt a high quality piece of eccentric Romance for me, fits my tastes like a glove and even provides comedy in the form of André as the pint sized Moroccan swindle machine. The Black and white look makes Paris look extremely beautiful and indeed made me a bit sad that I’ve never been to Paris, It’s made my decision that I have to see this city before I’m twenty, that incidentally gives me three and a bit years to get my act together and get my arse in Paris and maybe find the beautiful arse of a Frenchwoman? The cinematography, the direction, the acting, the scene, the story, it all adds to the beauty of this film.
I sometimes do wonder why I bother with these European film reviews considering they are plastered onto an animé and videogames website, I’d get more attention you know if I tattooed the review to my chest and jumped off a rather tall building. (9.9/10 for the jump, 8/10 for Angel-a)
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