Probably the best of the Bond spoofs that emerged in the 1960s, Philippe de Broca's live action version of a Tin Tin comic is a delight from beginning to end. Jean Paul Belmondo is a French soldier on leave who finds himself caught up in one far fetched situation after another as he tries to rescue girlfriend Françoise Dorléac from the evil clutches of kidnappers who've taken her to Rio in search of a valuable statue. The film hits the ground running and does not let up for breath as Belmondo swims, flies, runs, drives and parachutes his way all over Brazil. He battles faceless goons, barroom brawlers, poison darts and a even an alligator. There's undeniable chemistry between the two leads and the clever dialog is hilarious. Georges Delerue catchy music helps a lot and the supporting cast is great: Jean Servais; Adolfo Celi; Simone Renant. Ubiracy De Oliveira plays Sir Winston, a clever shoeshine boy who gets Belmondo out of more than one scrape.
Review of That Man from Rio
