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Angel-A (2007)
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Reviews Counted:84
Fresh:37
Rotten:47
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: The clunky dialogue and shallow characters fail to capitalize upon Angel-A's stunning, poetic cinematography.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language and some sexual content.
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Theatrical Release:May 25, 2007 Limited
Box Office: $39,234
Synopsis: ANGEL-A follows self-described liar and shady businessman Andre (Jamel Debbouze), who is down on his luck and owes Parisian gangsters money. In a desperate and weak state, Andre finds himself on... ANGEL-A follows self-described liar and shady businessman Andre (Jamel Debbouze), who is down on his luck and owes Parisian gangsters money. In a desperate and weak state, Andre finds himself on the edge of one of the City of Light's majestic bridges, ready to plunge into the river below. After one last look around him, he catches sight of a statuesque blonde woman, tears streaking down her gorgeous face, also standing on the ledge just a few feet away. She makes Andre forget about his problems for a moment, and he pleads with her not to jump. She does anyway, and he goes in after her, dragging her to safety. The damsel-in-distress, Angela (Rie Rasmussen), insists on hanging around Andre, doing whatever he tells her, as a way to pay him back for saving her life. Finding it hard to say no to her, and resisting her mesmerizing beauty, he recruits her, somewhat begrudgingly, to help him figure out how to settle his debts. What Andre soon discovers is that meeting Angela was no accident, and that they both need saving, not just from death, but also from themselves. ANGEL-A boasts entertaining performances by Debbouze as the scrappy and quick-tempered Andre and Rasmussen as the optimistic and unassumingly wise and playful Angela. The unlikely pair sparkle onscreen together. ANGEL-A is beautifully filmed, with the black-and-white cinematography capturing all that is engaging and romantic about Paris. [More]
Starring: Jamel Debbouze, Rie Rasmussen, Gilbert Melki, Kate Nauta
Starring: Jamel Debbouze, Rie Rasmussen, Gilbert Melki, Kate Nauta, Serge Riaboukine
Director: Luc Besson
Director: Luc Besson
Screenwriter: Luc Besson
Producer: Luc Besson
Composer: Anja Garbarek
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
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Reviews for Angel-A
It's too bad it took so long for the film to get here, because it's not only the best part, it's also the very end.
Ultimately Angel-A never takes flight, weighted down by an overabundance of metaphysical clichés stolen from other films.
Luc Besson's characteristic flair for visual expression here manifests itself in the most subdued way imaginable.
Angela's Oprah-ish effort to change Andre's lying ways becomes a tedious mix of self-help and pop-philosophizing . . . the film's black-and-white look is two shades more complex than its gender politics.
Angel-A is a dear, surprising film - one of the best Besson has put out into the world.
For many people, including me, the visual virtuosity behind Angel-A will be more than enough to get them over the storytelling bumps and the character inconsistencies.
Angel-A drops by most of the touristy Parisian hot spots and, shot in the glorious black-and-white of Henri Cartier-Bresson, makes them all look spectacular and gritty at the same time.
Visually arresting but flawed. Its strongest asset is the stunningly poetic cinematography by Thierry Arbogast.
The strained fairy tale feels like writer/director Luc Besson's effort to move beyond the pop giddiness of La Femme Nikita and The Fifth Element to a mature statement about issues important to him, but the effort overshadows the message.
This Parisian fable is a talkathon, affecting a silly toughness, but the sights are good to see again.
Genial performances and a pleasing plot are elevated to the stuff of cinematic majesty by Thierry Arbogast's glorious monochrome photography, which recalls the Parisian vistas of the nouvelle vague.
Counterfeit art-house chic writ large -- a French film that fails to produce the ineffable charms of the yesteryear movies it brazenly imitates.
Angel-A is a not very persuasive argument on behalf of heavenly intercession, but its co-star, Rie Rasmussen, will make you believe in intelligent design.
Clearly Besson's most personal film, a gorgeous and romantic travelogue of Paris locations. Rie Rasmussen is quite glorious in her first major role.
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