Angel-A

by Ari

 
Luc Besson’s Angel-A is a solid return to the smaller, intimate storytelling that started his career, while maintaining the stylish edge he developed when working in Hollywood. The film effectively blends the two sensibilities for a satisfying, entertaining experience - his best film since 1994’s Leon. Angel-A is a simple, straightforward romantic fairy-tale with an appropriately sweet tone, plenty of laughs, and even a few sequences of genuine emotional depth. Unlike most films that attempt this mixture of comedy and drama, Angel-A has more on its mind than surfaces. Like Leon, the film’s emotional impact gradually develops until a key dramatic beat serves the complete thematic and emotional circle of the story. In this particular case, the moment is one of Besson’s finest, earning the emotional reaction it seeks. While many films have the ambition of responding to cynical times with their innocent intentions, very few of them manage to successfully accomplish this goal. Angel-A, while not a great or important work, does indeed succeed in that department, presenting a tale of innocence and dreams with the right touch of honesty and heart. The whole film really exists for that one key moment (which Besson explained was the initial, basic idea for making the film), and it works extremely well without being too sentimental or silly. There’s a maturity to his work here that’s reminiscent of the personal and heartfelt sensibilities that created films like Leon or La Femme Nikita. Innocence can be a wonderful thing on film, and Besson clearly understands how to evoke this theme with the characters of this piece. The overall effect of the film is memorable and stylish, probably his most accessible film yet.

Andre (Jamel Debbouze of Days of Glory) is a compulsive liar and loser who constantly gets himself into trouble with the Paris underworld. He’s 50,000 Euros in debt, and has to pay it back in 24 hours or he’s dead. To avoid this dilemma, he contemplates suicide by jumping off a bridge. He looks up to the sky and cries out, “why have you left me? Why don’t you talk to me anymore?”. An instant later he notices a beautiful, tall blonde woman standing at the other end of the bridge in an equally painful state, contemplating the exact same thing as him. She jumps into the river below and Andre immediately follows to her rescue. After saving her life, the woman introduces herself as Angela (Rie Rasmussen), a mysterious, insightful figure who thus dedicates her time to helping Andre sort out his troubles. Andre needs an enormous amount of money to settle his debts, and Angela knows exactly how to get it. She negotiates with two methods: sex and violence. In one sequence, Angela seemingly offers her body to dozens of members of a nightclub, gathering the money Andre so desperately needs. It’s something that he finds despicable, but he soon realizes that not everything is as it seems.

Before things become too dull with this aspect of the story, Besson picks up the pace and reveals the true nature of the film. When Angela finally explains that she’s an angel sent to fix Andre’s life, the film balances humor and drama surprisingly well. Chemistry is incredibly important for a film like this, and actors Jamel Debbouze and Rie Rasmussen are a perfect match. Interestingly enough, Angel-A is structured much like Besson’s sci-fi adventure The Fifth Element, with a sexy supernatural savior who discovers the indescribable power of love. And it’s in the love story that Angel-A is most enjoyable. When the film’s central moment occurs, Besson makes it count. Describing this sequence would be a disservice to the film, but it effectively summarizes the overall thematic arcs of the story: acceptance, love, and happiness. Angel-A is a film where love transcends all, but it manages to do so in a relatively charming and entertaining fashion.

The crisp, stylish black and white photography creates a wonderfully surreal and dreamy atmosphere that perfectly fits the characters and story. This is arguably Besson’s most visually dazzling production - a beautifully stylized vision of Paris that captures everything romantic and exotic about the city. If this is indeed Besson’s last work, it’s a strong finish to his career.