# OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies

**OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies** (French: *OSS 117, Le Caire nid d'espions*) is a 2006 French spy comedy directed by [Michel Hazanavicius](https://www.edgepedia.org/michel-hazanavicius), starring [Jean Dujardin](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-dujardin) as Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, code name OSS 117, a French secret agent sent to Cairo in 1955 to investigate the disappearance of a fellow agent. Written by Jean-François Halin from the OSS 117 novels of Jean Bruce, the film parodies the conventions of 1950s and 1960s espionage cinema while satirizing French colonial attitudes, and it launched a series that continued with *[OSS 117: Lost in Rio](https://www.edgepedia.org/oss-117-lost-in-rio)* (2009) and *OSS 117: From Africa with Love* (2021).<sup>[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/63893/en/interview/495827/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.artemisproductions.com/sites/artemisproductions.com/files/html2pdf/fiche_film/pdf/fiche_film-OSS_117_-_Le_Caire_nid_despions-fr.pdf)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | *OSS 117, Le Caire nid d'espions* |
| Director / writers | Michel Hazanavicius; screenplay by Jean-François Halin, adaptation and dialogues by Halin and Hazanavicius, based on Jean Bruce's novels<sup>[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/63893/en/interview/495827/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.musicboxfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/oss117_pressnotes.pdf)</sup> |
| Release | France and Belgium, 19 April 2006; 99 minutes, color, 2.35 Scope, Dolby SRD<sup>[2](https://www.artemisproductions.com/sites/artemisproductions.com/files/html2pdf/fiche_film/pdf/fiche_film-OSS_117_-_Le_Caire_nid_despions-fr.pdf)</sup> |
| Lead cast | Jean Dujardin (Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath / OSS 117), Bérénice Bejo (Larmina El Akmar Betouche), Aure Atika (Princess Al Tarouk), Philippe Lefebvre (Jack Jefferson)<sup>[2](https://www.artemisproductions.com/sites/artemisproductions.com/files/html2pdf/fiche_film/pdf/fiche_film-OSS_117_-_Le_Caire_nid_despions-fr.pdf)</sup> |
| Setting | Egypt, 1955, on the eve of the Suez crisis<sup>[3](https://www.musicboxfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/oss117_pressnotes.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/118317/oss.117)</sup> |
| French box office | More than 2.3 million admissions; second place nationally in its first week behind *Ice Age 2*<sup>[5](https://cinedweller.com/movie/oss-117-le-caire-nid-despions-la-critique-du-film/)</sup> |
| Reception | 76% Tomatometer from 63 reviews and 75% Popcornmeter from over 5,000 ratings on Rotten Tomatoes<sup>[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1197120-oss_117_cairo_nest_of_spies)</sup> |
| Award | César for best production design<sup>[7](https://www.gaumont.com/en/movie/oss-117-cairo-nest-of-spies)</sup> |

## Spoilers

### Plot and setting

The story is set in Egypt in 1955, when Cairo is presented as a hub where everyone plots against everyone: the British, the French, the Soviets, the family of the deposed King Farouk seeking to reclaim his throne, and the Eagles of Kheops, a religious sect that wants to seize power. President René Coty of France sends his best weapon to restore order: Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, known as OSS 117.<sup>[3](https://www.musicboxfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/oss117_pressnotes.pdf)</sup>

Hubert's official mission is to investigate the disappearance of Jack Jefferson, a fellow agent and longtime friend who had been posted to Cairo. He takes over Jack's cover as the head of a wholesale chicken company and meets his contact, the Egyptian Larmina El Akmar Betouche, before stumbling into an international conspiracy.<sup>[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1197120-oss_117_cairo_nest_of_spies)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.musicboxfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/oss117_pressnotes.pdf)</sup> A back story established in the film has Hubert and Jack together seizing the secrets of the V2 rocket from a Nazi colonel ten years earlier.<sup>[8](https://www.telerama.fr/cinema/oss-117-le-caire-nid-d-espions-comedie-irresistible-avec-jean-dujardin-deroutant-de-charme-et-de-betise_cri-7043184.php)</sup> Time Out summarized his brief as a mission to "calm down the Americans, Russians and English; buttress French policy; establish peace; and make the Middle East safe."<sup>[9](https://www.timeout.com/movies/oss-117-cairo-nest-of-spies)</sup>

## The character and the satire

Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath is played as suave, confident, and utterly clueless. Critics repeatedly compared Dujardin's physical type to a young [Sean Connery](https://www.edgepedia.org/sean-connery), and the performance works by playing the Bond mannerisms straight while the character's smugness, cultural ignorance, sexual chauvinism, and colonial condescension turn every scene into comedy.<sup>[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464913/criticreviews/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://www.timeout.com/movies/oss-117-cairo-nest-of-spies)</sup> Roger Ebert's review described the hero as "James Bond out of Inspector Clouseau and Austin Powers," noting that his superiors regard him as a "specialist in the Arabo-Muslim world," an assessment the film proceeds to demolish.<sup>[11](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/oss-117-cairo-nest-of-spies-2008)</sup> The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw highlighted a representative gag in which OSS 117 smirkingly tells [Egyptians](https://www.edgepedia.org/egyptians) that Islam is a foolish religion that "won't last long."<sup>[12](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/nov/07/french-bond-film-review)</sup>

Screenwriter Jean-François Halin explained the approach as pushing the codes of Jean Bruce's books to their logical outcome: the novels contain, in his words, "everything that France was in the 50s," including the Fourth Republic, the end of the colonial empire, a macho and misogynist relationship to women, and condescension toward colonized people, which the film reworks to show how much of today's society also stems from that period.<sup>[3](https://www.musicboxfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/oss117_pressnotes.pdf)</sup> An academic study of the film argues that its parody of French colonial arrogance operates through a triangulated relation to its satirical targets, bringing into focus how old colonial tropes are repackaged for contemporary ends.<sup>[13](https://escholarship.org/content/qt5b49h7w2/qt5b49h7w2.pdf)</sup>

## Period pastiche as method

**Reconstruction of the era** is the film's central craft achievement. Hazanavicius, a former director of commercials and television making only his second feature, recreated the look of the original OSS 117 films and of JFK and de Gaulle era espionage cinema: slick animated titles, underpopulated panoramic backdrops, magazine-layout costumes, form-fitting wardrobes, bouffant hairdos, and a jazz-ethnic soundtrack.<sup>[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464913/criticreviews/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[14](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/kim-newman-on-oss-117-cairo-nest-of-spies/)</sup> All special effects were made with the techniques of the period, most visibly in studio-shot car scenes using the rear-projection transparency process, and the film also quotes Hitchcock, particularly the 1956 *The Man Who Knew Too Much*, alongside the [James Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-bond) series.<sup>[5](https://cinedweller.com/movie/oss-117-le-caire-nid-despions-la-critique-du-film/)</sup>

The comedy builds through repetition and self-awareness. [Le Monde](https://www.edgepedia.org/le-monde)'s review described a structure in which a first gag plays on a spy-film cliché, a second turns it into running comedy, and a third makes the characters aware of the pattern and end it themselves, so the film keeps shifting between levels of distance without wearing out its material.<sup>[15](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2006/04/18/oss-117-le-caire-nid-d-espions-retour-gagnant-pour-l-espion-oss-117_762870_3476.html)</sup> The score by Ludovic Bource and Kamel Ech-Cheikh lampoons lounge music and 1960s [Henry Mancini](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-mancini).<sup>[9](https://www.timeout.com/movies/oss-117-cairo-nest-of-spies)</sup>

## Place in the OSS 117 franchise

The character predates James Bond in print. Jean Bruce's first OSS 117 novel, *Tu parles d'une ingénue!...*, appeared in 1949 from the newly founded Fleuve Noir publishing house, four years before [Ian Fleming](https://www.edgepedia.org/ian-fleming)'s first Bond novel.<sup>[16](https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/250349998/D.Magennis_The_French_Troubles_Thriller_Genre_Ideologies_and_Representations.pdf)</sup> The 2006 film is the eighth theatrical appearance of OSS 117, following *OSS 117 n'est pas mort* (1956), *OSS 117 se déchaîne* (1963), *Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117* (1964), *Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117* (1965), *Atout coeur à Tokyo pour OSS 117* (1966), *Pas de roses pour OSS 117* (1968), and *OSS 117 prend des vacances* (1970).<sup>[17](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D61099.html)</sup> Those earlier films were straightforward spy pictures; the 1963 revival ran parallel to the Bond films for five entries through 1968, with leads including Kerwin Mathews, Frederick Stafford, and [John Gavin](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-gavin).<sup>[18](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72445/oss-117-five-film-collection-oss-117-is-unleashed-panic-in-bangkok-mission-for-a-killer-mission-to-tokyo-double-agent/)</sup>

The 2006 film revived the character as a parody. Its commercial success in France, over 2.3 million admissions, led to the sequel *OSS 117: Lost in Rio* (2009), again directed by Hazanavicius with Dujardin and Bejo, in which the agent is sent to Rio de Janeiro to capture a fugitive Nazi holding a microfilmed list of French collaborators.<sup>[5](https://cinedweller.com/movie/oss-117-le-caire-nid-despions-la-critique-du-film/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[19](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jan/14/oss-lost-in-rio-film-review)</sup> A third film, *OSS 117: From Africa with Love* (*OSS 117: Alerte rouge en Afrique noire*), directed by Nicolas Bedos, was released in France on 4 August 2021, moving the aging agent to early 1980s Africa alongside a young new recruit, OSS 1001 ([Pierre Niney](https://www.edgepedia.org/pierre-niney)).<sup>[20](https://en.unifrance.org/movie/49391/oss-117-from-africa-with-love)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[21](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2021/08/04/american-nightmare-5-oss-117-alerte-rouge-en-afrique-noire-les-films-a-l-affiche-cette-semaine_6090458_3476.html)</sup>

## Reception and legacy

The film opened in Paris to strong attendance and unanimous critical praise in the [French press](https://www.edgepedia.org/french-press), and AlloCiné records one prize and 19 nominations at festivals and award ceremonies.<sup>[22](https://www.cineserie.com/news/cinema/jean-oss-117-dujardin-kidnappe-le-box-office-france-1619592/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[23](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-61099/palmares/)</sup> It won the Golden Space Needle Award at the 2006 Seattle International Film Festival and later received the César for best production design.<sup>[24](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464913/awards/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://www.gaumont.com/en/movie/oss-117-cairo-nest-of-spies)</sup> Music Box Films released it in the United States, where it screened at COLCOA in 2008; that program noted that viewers who had seen it in 2006 "were not surprised by the phenomenal appeal of *The Artist*," Hazanavicius and Dujardin's later Oscar-winning collaboration.<sup>[25](https://archive.colcoa.org/colcoa/2015/docs/full_catalog15_online.pdf)</sup>

English-language critics were largely positive. Rotten Tomatoes records a 76% Tomatometer from 63 reviews, with a critics' consensus calling it "a clever spy spoof" that "plays politics and movie conventions for laughs."<sup>[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1197120-oss_117_cairo_nest_of_spies)</sup> Time Out gave it four of five stars and called it a recommended antidote to *Quantum of Solace*.<sup>[9](https://www.timeout.com/movies/oss-117-cairo-nest-of-spies)</sup> The Guardian's Bradshaw ranked it as the most lovingly detailed period pastiche since [Todd Haynes](https://www.edgepedia.org/todd-haynes)'s *Far from Heaven* and suggested Dujardin might be tied to the role the way [Peter Sellers](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-sellers) was to Clouseau.<sup>[12](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/nov/07/french-bond-film-review)</sup> A scholarly essay on Dujardin's comedy notes that his background in cabaret and stand-up, with its tradition of direct address to the audience, gives him a performer's command over the codes of narrative cinema that the two OSS 117 pastiches exploit.<sup>[26](https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/items/6c0a7d82-b22d-49d3-9f8e-fd9da0eed3d3)</sup>

## References

1. [OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/63893/en/interview/495827/)
2. [OSS 117 – Le Caire nid d'espions, film sheet, Artémis Productions](https://www.artemisproductions.com/sites/artemisproductions.com/files/html2pdf/fiche_film/pdf/fiche_film-OSS_117_-_Le_Caire_nid_despions-fr.pdf)
3. [OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies press notes, Music Box Films](https://www.musicboxfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/oss117_pressnotes.pdf)
4. [OSS 117: Cairo – Nest of Spies, The Guardian film page](https://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/118317/oss.117)
5. [OSS 117: Le Caire, nid d'espions – la critique du film, CinéDweller](https://cinedweller.com/movie/oss-117-le-caire-nid-despions-la-critique-du-film/)
6. [OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1197120-oss_117_cairo_nest_of_spies)
7. [OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, Gaumont](https://www.gaumont.com/en/movie/oss-117-cairo-nest-of-spies)
8. ["OSS 117: Le Caire nid d'espions": comédie irrésistible avec Jean Dujardin, Télérama](https://www.telerama.fr/cinema/oss-117-le-caire-nid-d-espions-comedie-irresistible-avec-jean-dujardin-deroutant-de-charme-et-de-betise_cri-7043184.php)
9. [OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/oss-117-cairo-nest-of-spies)
10. [OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006), Metacritic reviews via IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464913/criticreviews/)
11. [Stupid Agent Man, review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/oss-117-cairo-nest-of-spies-2008)
12. [OSS 117: Cairo – Nest of Spies, review by Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/nov/07/french-bond-film-review)
13. ["Agent OSS 117: France, Colonial Memory, and the Politics of Parody", UC Santa Cruz eScholarship](https://escholarship.org/content/qt5b49h7w2/qt5b49h7w2.pdf)
14. [Kim Newman on… OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies, Rotten Tomatoes editorial](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/kim-newman-on-oss-117-cairo-nest-of-spies/)
15. ["OSS 117, Le Caire nid d'espions": retour gagnant pour l'espion OSS 117, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2006/04/18/oss-117-le-caire-nid-d-espions-retour-gagnant-pour-l-espion-oss-117_762870_3476.html)
16. [D. Magennis, The French Troubles Thriller Genre: Ideologies and Representations, Queen's University Belfast](https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/250349998/D.Magennis_The_French_Troubles_Thriller_Genre_Ideologies_and_Representations.pdf)
17. [OSS 117, Le Caire nid d'espions – Film 2006, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D61099.html)
18. [OSS 117: Five Film Collection review, DVD Talk](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72445/oss-117-five-film-collection-oss-117-is-unleashed-panic-in-bangkok-mission-for-a-killer-mission-to-tokyo-double-agent/)
19. [OSS-117: Lost in Rio review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jan/14/oss-lost-in-rio-film-review)
20. [OSS 117: From Africa with Love, Unifrance](https://en.unifrance.org/movie/49391/oss-117-from-africa-with-love)
21. ["American Nightmare 5", "OSS 117: Alerte rouge en Afrique noire"… Les films à l'affiche cette semaine, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2021/08/04/american-nightmare-5-oss-117-alerte-rouge-en-afrique-noire-les-films-a-l-affiche-cette-semaine_6090458_3476.html)
22. [Jean "OSS 117" Dujardin kidnappe le box-office France!, CinéSérie](https://www.cineserie.com/news/cinema/jean-oss-117-dujardin-kidnappe-le-box-office-france-1619592/)
23. [Récompenses et nominations pour le film OSS 117, Le Caire nid d'espions, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-61099/palmares/)
24. [OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006) – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464913/awards/)
25. [COLCOA 2015 catalog, City of Lights, City of Angels](https://archive.colcoa.org/colcoa/2015/docs/full_catalog15_online.pdf)
26. [Jean Dujardin, OSS 117, and the art of the spoof, Essays in French Literature and Culture, University of Adelaide](https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/items/6c0a7d82-b22d-49d3-9f8e-fd9da0eed3d3)

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