When it comes to being entirely absurd, seemingly no one does it better than Michel Hazanavicius, whose career has been all about carefully-constructed parodies and homages to a range of different genres. Most outside of his native France will probably know his work on the critically acclaimed silent film pastiche The Artist, but his first major success came in the form of OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (French: OSS 117: Le Caire, nid d’espions), his adaptation of the classic French espionage novels that focus on the character of Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, who is often considered a lesser contemporary to James Bond (his name certainly doesn’t have the same succinct ring to it, after all), his exploits around the world occurring concurrently to Ian Fleming’s iconic creation. An expertly-crafted comedy that is both hilarious in terms of the narrative and absolutely spellbinding when it comes to the visual scope, Hazanavicius truly pays tribute to a genre he adores so much, he dedicated a considerable amount of time to honouring, but not enough to the point where he was against deconstructing them and rebuilding these stories through his own wonderfully deranged artistic perspective. It leads to a charming and insightful comedy with a lot of heart and an even bigger abundance of unique quirks that make it so absolutely transfixing, even when it is at its most absurd, which is all part of the charm of this quaint but endearing comedic gem.

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies doesn’t so much ridicule the spy genre as it playfully honours a genre that has seen nearly every kind of story and convention filtered through it at some point. Undeniably, this film is a relatively conventional parody of these films, not being particularly noteworthy outside of its deep reverence manifesting through pure hilarity. Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath is a fascinating character – and while the original novels by Jean Bruce (and the adaptations of his work in the 1960s) may present him as more of a straightforward, hard-working secret agent, Hazanavicius takes the approach to present him and his exploits through a lens of complete absurdity. Absolutely everything that we see in this film is filtered through layers of the most peculiar and surreal humour imaginable, which are barely found in the source material, and thus have to be attributed to the director and his team of co-writers (as well as the rest of the crew, whose hard work helps define Hubert as such a fascinating character), who toil laboriously to create something as strange as this. As they tend to say, it takes a lot of work to make something that appears this silly, and the careful calibration of off-kilter humour, intriguing mystery and genuine thrills all work towards defining OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies as much more than just a run-of-the-mill spy comedy, each moment feeling genuinely quite insightful and funny, which may not be entirely expected from a film that seems to enjoy misleading us into believing that it isn’t much more than just an off-the-wall comedy about an incompetent spy and his various exploits in the “dark continent” of Africa.

If we’re going to discuss how absurd OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies is, we have to look at how Hubert is characterized, since the success of the film undeniably rests in the hands of the actor who takes on the role. Luckily, Hazanavicius casts Jean Dujardin, who has risen to the status of being one of the most recognizable and beloved French actors, both in his native country and overseas (his brief but memorable foray into Hollywood allowing him to work with a few major stars, while also picking up a couple of notable prizes for his dazzling work in The Artist). While he wasn’t as established then as he is now, OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies still proves what a magnetic star Dujardin is – his debonair charm, wide grin and unforgettable swagger making him the perfect candidate for a character defined by his suave nature – and the actor’s comedic timing adding the necessary nuance to portray Hubert as a massively incompetent spy who just so happens to be constantly lucky in every dangerous situation, his skills as both a serious actor and comedian working in tandem to create this fascinating portrayal. Dujardin is fantastic, but Bérénice Bejo is also excellent, taking a relatively small role and turning it into a scene-stealer in every way – and the entire cast is filled to the brim with hilarious performances that fit in perfectly with the strange but endearing charms that encompass the entire film, from the most substantial supporting role to the briefest walk-on cameo, which ultimately make this film such a unique and unforgettable experience.

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies is not a particularly serious film, nor is it one that necessarily redefines the spy genre. However, this doesn’t preclude it from being a massively entertaining film that pays sufficient tribute to a genre that has been parodied often, but rarely with the same kind of tender, earnest humour that we see done here. It’s often extremely silly, and can veer towards mindless parody far too often – but when each moment of unhinged absurdity is undercut with the very clear passion for the subject matter felt by the director, it’s difficult to not be thoroughly engaged. Hazanavicius is clearly fond of both the original novels, and the campy, entertaining spy films that were around in his childhood – and through working with a dedicated group of collaborators, he manages to replicate many of the most iconic elements (including some of the more artificial aspects that gave the earlier films such an endearing sense of peculiarity), while asserting his own unique artistic aspirations onto a film that we’d not expect to be as profoundly interesting as this ended up being. However, the more you look beneath the surface and see how every frame contains an endless amount of detail, all of which are carefully curated by the director, the easier it is to just surrender to the endlessly strange and wonderful world of Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath and his globe-trotting missions that take his lovable incompetence to the furthest corners of our world.