Espion, lève-toi (1982) - film review

Having worked for as a spy for the French government, Sébastien Grenier is now enjoying a peaceful life in Zurich, living with his German girlfriend and working as a financier.  Then, one day, his ordered life comes to a sudden end.  After a terrorist killing, he is contacted by a mysterious stranger, Jean-Paul Chance, who claims to have been sent from the secret security services in Paris to “awaken” the former spy, so he can resume his espionage activities.  Suspicious, Grenier contacts a fellow agent, Marchand who, shortly afterwards is killed.  Convinced that someone high in authority is intent on wiping out the network of spies, Grenier travels to Munich to alert another of his former collegues.  When this agent is also killed, Grenier realises that he and and his girlfriend are both in great danger...

This film is almost the antidote to the conventional spy thriller movie.  It is not quite a spoof, but its intentionally confusing plot developments (none of which are fully explained) and truly bizarre characters makes it a respectable parody of the genre at least.

Director Yves Boisset’s mastery of the thriller genre is evident from the very first scene and carries him through the film with effortless grace.  Although the spectator has little chance of understanding what is happening, it is nonetheless a film which manages to grip the attention and offers some rewards.

The film’s strongest point are the performances from its two lead actors.  Lino Ventura, the archetypal hard man of French cinema since the late 1950s, manages to hold the whole thing together by the force of his personality alone, although he does for the most part look as if he is completely lost.  He is only slightly outstaged by Michel Piccoli who plays the shadowy Mr Chance, as enigmatic and as unfathomable as it is possible to be.  The Ventura-Piccoli pairing works surprisingly well, the tension between the two actors sometimes appearing so strained you feel that Ventura, exasperated, is about to lash out and punch his co-star.

A wacky, bewildering plot which twists and turns like a cross-between a Möbius band and a cat’s cradle.  Great performances from some formidable actors.   A racy film score which you wish you wish you could go out and buy on CD.  Plus all the trappings associated with spy movies, loads of grisly killings.  With all this on offer, it is such a pity that the film has to have such a down-beat and predictable ending.

© James Travers 2001

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