"Oss 117", Françafrique Version Grand Guignol

"Red alert in black Africa", the third part of the highly anticipated adventures of the most silly French spies, makes fun of the colonialist tricolor clichés.

nineteen eighty one.HUBERT BASTER OF BATH, alias OSS 117, is summoned in the office of the boss of the SDECE, the external documentation and counterintelligence service."What do you know about Africa?», Asks her his superior."The Africans are happy, friendly, funny, they dance well, but they are not careful ...", replies the agent."You know the essentials," concludes his boss.The tone is posed.Outrageously caricatural, paternalistic.And yet, in this new part, red alert in black Africa, Oss 117 always makes people laugh.For what ?How ?It is the result of a subtle alchemy that we will try to decrypt here.

Distorting but honest mirror

Before being embodied in the cinema by Jean Dujardin, Oss 117 had a first life.It was initially a series of spy novels written by French Jean Bruce from 1949.She tells the adventures of an American agent - who comes from an old French family, the Bath's voucher.OSS refers to the Office of Strategic Services, from an agency that really existed in the United States and was created in 1942 to conduct clandestine actions before being replaced by the CIA.

Hubert is already gladly sexist, racist (an African expressing himself in a correct French is presented as an "evolved"), and homophobic ... except that the collection of oss (nearly 265 volumes!) Is written in the first degree."In the saga of origin written by Jean Bruce, there are many extracts that we can today find very problematic," remarks David Honnorat, co-creator with Hugo Alexandre from the YouTube chain Calmos, where theseTwo cinema specialists dissect French comedies with seriousness and learning."OSS 117, like another successful series, SAS, falls into many reactionaries of the time.The genius of the cinema takeover is to have made a pastiche by changing this American spy to French spy, and by tending us a distorting mirror, but honest with ourselves.»»

À LireCinéma : une guerre d’Algérie interminable

The first two components (Cairo, nest of spies and Rio no longer responds, more than 2 million admissions each) were made by Michel Hazanavicius, with vintage formalism, many winks to Hitchcock and the first JamesBond, while this third episode was entrusted to Nicolas Bedos who is part of the vein of action films putting Belmondo.This change of casting is due to the fact that Michel Hazanavicius was slow to give his agreement for a third film, believing in particular that France had tense itself on questions of racism, and that the concept of the saga had to be reviewed.

However, in the last part, the tone has not changed.And for good reason, a large part of the team remained the same, with of course Jean Dujardin in the title role and Jean-François Halin, in the script as well as in dialogues.This old Gaudriole Flibustier on Canal+ (he signed a number of sketches for the news of the news, Groland, etc.) is the politically incorrect warranty of adventures.

« OSS 117 », la Françafrique version grand guignol

Corrupters and corrupt in line of sight

"It is not true that we can no longer laugh at everything," says the screenwriter of Oss 117 Jean-François Halin.And if it happened, it would rather be good news: I am embarrassed by certain comedies and the shameful way that we sometimes imitate blacks.I personally find that it is rather exciting to embark on subjects that scratch, which remain sensitive.»»

If this last part makes you laugh, it is because it does not make fun of Africans, but shoots on a system, Françafrique, keeping its most beautiful cartridges for the corrupters (the French state) and the corrupt (the dictator and his henchmen).OSS 117's mission is indeed to help a despot to get rid of his opponents, supported by the USSR.It is the Malian actor Habib Dembélé who takes care of taking on the role of the autocrat, drawing inspiration from Mobutu, Bongo and Bokassa, whose obsession for Napoleon he takes up the obsession with Napoleon.

OSS is part of the buffoon wake of other comedies that stretch Françafrique, but directed by blacks or mixed mestses: the Botswanga crocodile, welcome to Gondwana, Black Snake, the legend of the Black Serpent ... while the other fictions areLocated in imaginary African countries, here the place of the plot is never named, but seems an aggregation of many very real regions. « Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, République Centrafricaine, entre autres !»», confirme Jean-François Halin.

Oss 117 marks its difference by targeting French state cynicism.During the interview of Oss 117 with his superior, at the start of the film, the chef explains by speaking of Africans: "They are our friends.These are our brothers almost and we are exploiting diamond mines, oil wells, gas, uranium there.»»

« J’ai l’impression qu’on ne réalise pas forcément à quel point la colonisation a fait des dégâts»», soupire Jean-François Halin qui a co-écrit la série télévisée d’espionnage Au service de la France, traitant beaucoup des indépendances."In France, the colonies are linked to the myth of the Empire, General de Gaulle continued to prosper on the idea that our country was one of the world's largest powers. Ailleurs aussi, je pense à la Belgique, on a du mal à réaliser à quel point la colonisation était un moment épouvantable de notre histoire…»»

Racisme, échapper aux incriminations ?

Despite its clear intentions, can the film escape the accusations of racism?No, of course.On February 9, long before her release, activist and director Amandine Gay, for example, was alarmed on Twitter: "Guaranteed 100 % humor franchouillard, without additive of decency. On nous expliquera ensuite avec force condescendance que c’est à prendre au 23e degré.And the wires with white dad will continue to capitalize on our backs.Racism is still bringing big, especially in the French film industry.»»

Besides, director Nicolas Bedos, willingly controversial, can also sometimes be guilty of real blunders. Dans le dossier de presse, il explique ainsi en parlant de l’actrice Fatou N’Diaye qui incarne Zéphyrine, épouse du dictateur et leader des opposants : « Il a fallu qu’elle bosse à fond l’accent africain, car elle est plus parisienne que moi !»» Un « accent africain»» qui rappelle le sketch de Michel Leeb sur « l’Africain»»…

À LireMali : pourquoi Canal+ fait l’objet d’une enquête de l’Uemoa

But the film constantly thwarts these racist accusations.When Oss 117 embarks on a tirade full of shots, it is obviously his stupidity that is pointed out.Its certainties (Islam is not a religion to last, African countries are unable to become independent ...) above all make it possible to mock its arrogance. Ses coups d’éclat (rappelons qu’il frappe un muezzin trop bruyant dans le premier volet, « il était même censé le tuer dans une ébauche du scénario»», précise Jean-François Halin) sont là pour dénoncer son ignorance et sa beaufitude.In short, Oss 117 is first and foremost a criticism of the average French, its prejudices and its condescension.

Loser magnifique

"Oss 117 is based on self -mockery, and brocade the patriots with misplaced pride," comments Hugo Alexandre.There is something very proud in the French people, we rely on our past glories, we see each other more beautiful than you are ... and reality always ends up catching upon us. C’est un peu comme pour l’Euro de foot, on a l’impression qu’on va rouler sur tout le monde et on se fait sortir en 8e de finale.»»

Le duo de la chaîne YouTube Calmos voit d’un très bon œil le choix de nineteen eighty one pour cet épisode."Oss 117 is the embodiment of an aging France at the dawn of the Mitterrand election which is a pivotal period, including for Françafrique," notes David Honnorat.While there is this fear of an invasion of Paris by Russian tanks, the former colonial empire may seem a reassuring setting.The cheesy of the character of Jean Dujardin is still accentuated by the presence of a young guy, embodied by Pierre Niney [OSS 1001, editor's note].This is a classic spring of action films, the hero confronted with a young person: we find him in the sagas Die Hard, Rocky, Inspector Harry or even the French Comedy Les Ripoux.»»

Confronted with a modern spy, lost in a former colony whose rules escape him, a fan of de Gaulle and René Coty in Mitterrand France, Hubert Bonsergeur de la Bath is even more lost, out -of -phase, than in previous episodes.This magnificent loser nevertheless recalls many nostalgic for French grandeur which still prevail in the hexagonal politico-media space on the backdrop of crawling declineism.And it is basically what remains the most creaky in this oss 117, glimpse through two cattle sneers of the frankly spy the very real melancholy of our contemporaries.

A humor that no longer goes

En France, la stigmatisation des minorités dans des sketchs qui se veulent comiques passe de plus en plus mal depuis une dizaine d’années environ. En 2007, par exemple, Michel Leeb s’est fait tacler par Rama Yade pour sa saynète « l’Africain»». « Michel Leeb, grimé en noir et les lèvres rougies, a construit toute sa carrière d’humoriste sur ces clichés, notamment le supposé accent africain présenté comme la manifestation d’un handicap intellectuel, sans que, pendant longtemps, personne ne s’en étonne»», écrit-elle dans son ouvrage « Noirs de France»» (éd. Calmann-Lévy). Vincent Lagaf’ s’est fait reprendre récemment par des chroniqueurs concernant son tube des années 1990 « la Zoubida»», qui reprenait allègrement les stéréotypes sur les Maghrébins, de la danseuse du ventre au tapis volant. Les Inconnus, Coluche, et même Omar Sy (parce qu’il avait parodié la chanson « Doudou»» d’Aya Nakamura en imitant « la femme africaine»») ont aussi pu devenir la cible des antiracistes sur les réseaux sociaux. « OSS 117»» a pour l’heure échappé à la vindicte.

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