Friday, January 15, 2010

Spoiler Alert

Via the Kermode podcast we reprint the British Board of Film Classification's overview of OSS 177:
OSS 117 - RIO NE REPOND PLUS is the sequel to OSS 117 - LE CAIRE, NID D'ESPIONS. It features Jean Dujardin as Hubert, a.k.a. 'OSS 117', a secret agent sent on a mission to Rio de Janeiro in 1967 to obtain a microfilm from a former high-ranking Nazi. He is accompanied by a female agent who is also searching for the exiled Nazi with the intention of taking him back to Israel to stand trial. The film was classified '15' for containing strong language, sex references and drug use.

At '15', the BBFC's Guidelines state that 'there may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse'.

In OSS 117 - RIO NE REPOND PLUS there are several uses of strong language, some of them sexualised. These uses are generally spoken in English by an American character, and so are not subtitled.

The strong sex references occur during a scene in which a group of characters have an orgy. We see nude women and men kissing each other as they writhe in a mass on the beach - there is extensive sight of breast nudity and also a glimpse of a woman's pubic hair. As the scene continues we see multiple windows showing men and women kissing each other gleefully, the kneading of buttocks and so on. There is also the comedic implication that a man is going to insert his finger into another man's bottom but this is not shown, as with other sexual activity which is masked by the camera angles used.

This aforementioned scene also begins with sight of a character being given LSD - he clearly doesn't know what it is and this lack of knowledge is clearly intended for comedic effect as is the hippie lifestyle that the scene promotes, with the character also subsequently haunted by his lack of inhibition while under the influence of the drug.

The film also contains some racism but as with the drug references this element is clearly played for satirical purposes, with the hero Hubert referring to the Chinese as "dirty yellows" and "Chinks", and telling a character that Israel is like a Nazi-occupied country. The character is shown to be something of an idiot, and the film as a whole lampoons some of the attitudes to race in media of the day.

Also present is some infrequent moderate violence with sight of blood as characters are shot, but this is shown without explicit detail. There is also sight of smoking throughout the film.
The BBFC is like the ChildCare Action Project but more knowingly fun. Their adult film feed is fun (although light on description) because you know it's a government job to consider OLDTIMERS, STILL HOT AND WET 15.

5 comments:

mikey said...

All that detailed information and they can't be bothered to tell me if it's a conservative or liberal film?

Cripes!

What does BigHo have to say about OSS-17?

Smut Clyde said...

the comedic implication that a man is going to insert his finger into another man's bottom
This does not cheer up people on the bus as much as you might expect.

Substance McGravitas said...

All that detailed information and they can't be bothered to tell me if it's a conservative or liberal film?

IT'S FRENCH!

Substance McGravitas said...

The Kermode review of the film blew a good joke: the French James Bond is told that his mission is to get microfilm that contains a list of French collaborators with the Nazis and responds "I can see why it's on microfilm as the list must be short." He soon finds he's not to snatch the microfilm and kill everyone named but instead is just supposed to buy it.

J— said...

Have you seen this group?