Espion, lève-toi
- 1982
- 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
Sébastien Grenier, a secret agent, eliminates all his rivals in order to decipher who has killed some of his associates.Sébastien Grenier, a secret agent, eliminates all his rivals in order to decipher who has killed some of his associates.Sébastien Grenier, a secret agent, eliminates all his rivals in order to decipher who has killed some of his associates.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAll long the shooting, every member of the crew - technicians, screen player and actors - ignored how the film was about to end, nor who was the real evil character of the movie.
- GoofsSeveral times throughout the movie a voice over states location and time the following events will take place. On the arrival of a train in Zurich central train station, it says 14h25 (2.25 pm) but two, perfectly visible railway station clocks show that it's in fact 11.43 am.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Parole de cinéaste: Yves Boisset: le cinéaste le plus censuré de France (2013)
Featured review
Abstract politics.
Yves Boisset has always been a politically committed director,but his stories are always linear and accessible:hence their efficiency,even if people complain about their manicheism or naiveté.One cannot deny their impact on the audience when it comes to depicting the Algerian war (in RAS) or racism (in Dupont Lajoie,probably his best effort).
"Espion lève -toi" moves in another direction ;relatively speaking it shows the influence of Pakula and "the parallax view".A hero (Ventura)fighting against something he does not really understand,estranged from his compatriots in Zurich ,Switzerland,the symbol of the power of money.Around him everybody's dying,even his lover ,a German professor is threatened ,and maybe she's not the woman he thinks she is (hints at Baader's gang and terrorism).When Ventura strikes back,not only it's too late but it may also be absurd and pointless:he 's nothing but a puppet on a string like laurence Harvey in "Mandchourian candidate" .
This movie is unique in Boisset's career:it was initially to be directed by Zulawski,and the snub critics used to say what a better movie it would have been !It's not sure :Zulawski's works are often pretentious and -in France,abroad they do not seem to bother- overrated ("posession" or "l'important c'est d'aimer")and Boisset's simplicity and academic but efficient style fit the screenplay like a glove.Unlike Frankenheimer's and Pakula 's works I Mention above,"Espion lève- toi" is no masterpiece but it should appeal to people who like this genre.
Yves Boisset got lost after this effort:he tackled pure thriller with "le prix du danger" "canicule "or "bleu comme l'enfer",and deprived of his political or social comments he was nothing but another director
"Espion lève -toi" moves in another direction ;relatively speaking it shows the influence of Pakula and "the parallax view".A hero (Ventura)fighting against something he does not really understand,estranged from his compatriots in Zurich ,Switzerland,the symbol of the power of money.Around him everybody's dying,even his lover ,a German professor is threatened ,and maybe she's not the woman he thinks she is (hints at Baader's gang and terrorism).When Ventura strikes back,not only it's too late but it may also be absurd and pointless:he 's nothing but a puppet on a string like laurence Harvey in "Mandchourian candidate" .
This movie is unique in Boisset's career:it was initially to be directed by Zulawski,and the snub critics used to say what a better movie it would have been !It's not sure :Zulawski's works are often pretentious and -in France,abroad they do not seem to bother- overrated ("posession" or "l'important c'est d'aimer")and Boisset's simplicity and academic but efficient style fit the screenplay like a glove.Unlike Frankenheimer's and Pakula 's works I Mention above,"Espion lève- toi" is no masterpiece but it should appeal to people who like this genre.
Yves Boisset got lost after this effort:he tackled pure thriller with "le prix du danger" "canicule "or "bleu comme l'enfer",and deprived of his political or social comments he was nothing but another director
helpful•250
- dbdumonteil
- Feb 15, 2003
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Der Maulwurf
- Filming locations
- Max-Joseph Platz, Munich, Bavaria, Germany(as Munich's city library)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1
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