Le Maqnifique (1973)

One of my favorite spy spoofs is the French comedy Le Magnifique, which was made in 1973 by Philippe de Broca. Director Philippe de Broca made many adventure films and comedies during his career and Le Maqnifique is one of his most entertaining movies.

Le Maqnifique features the popular French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo as a reclusive novelist with a wild imagination, who spends his days writing novels about a suave and handsome spy named Bob St. Clare. Belmondo escapes from the real world by loosing himself in Bob St. Clare's fantastic adventures.

The film does a terrific job of blending the real world that Belmondo inhabits with the imaginary world he longs to escape to. Le Maqnifique pokes fun at macho spy films featuring infallible heroes like James Bond and does it in a smart and sometimes sentimental way. The jokes don't always work, but when they do they're very funny. The comedy becomes almost slapstick at times, but I think it works well with the movie's bizarre plot twists and turns. The film also features a good soundtrack by the award winning jazz pianist and composer Claude Bolling.

The beautiful British actress Jacqueline Bisset plays Belmondo's love interest and neighbor Christine. When Belmondo becomes infatuated with Bissett his imagination starts working overtime, and he soon creates an imaginary character based on her called Tatiana. Tatiana becomes Bob St. Claire’s exotic assistant in Belmondo’s novels.

At age 40, Jean-Paul Belmondo looks great in Le Maqnifique and he's very appealing as the pulp novelist with a rich fantasy life. He does a terrific job in his duel role here and seems to be having a lot of fun as the fictional spy Bob St. Claire.

If you're in the mood for some light comedy and an entertaining adventure, I highly recommend Philippe de Broca's Le Maqnifique. The movie is currently available in widescreen on NTSC Region-1 DVD from Image Entertainment.

You can find more information about the DVD at Amazon.

- Kimberly Lindbergs