OSS 117: From Africa with Love (French title OSS 117: Alerte Rouge en Afrique noire, "OSS 117: Red Alert in Black Africa") is a 2021 French spy comedy film, directed by Nicolas Bedos. It is the third installment in the modern OSS 117 film series starring Jean Dujardin after Cairo, Nest of Spies and Lost in Rio.
In 1981, French agent Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, a.k.a. OSS 117, is sent to an African country to help the country's president against an armed rebellion as part of the "Françafrique"
policy. He also has to team up with a younger agent named Serge, aka OSS 1001 (Pierre Niney).
The film was released on August 4, 2021 in France.
OSS 117: From Africa with Love provides examples of:
- The '80s:
- 117 wishes a "Happy New Year 1981" to whoever would watch the hostage video he's forced to do, before freeing himself from his captors.
- The film makes several references to television shows of that time, notably a show for kids named L'Île aux enfants (which started in 1975 but continued until 1982). It includes actual pictures from back then on several occasions.
- An Aesop: The colonial past of Africa still has massive repercussions in the present, and the remaining western influence is keeping in place a system that prevents it from developing freely. 117 understands this but, being himself, doesn't put this new knowledge in practice.
- Africa Is a Country: Played with. It is generally obvious in context that action is set in an unnamed but specific country (see Bulungi below). On the other hand Hubert uses a big, cartoonish map displaying a country shaped like Africa. He names a few places like Ugandanote but it is unclear whether that is supposed to be part of the country.
- Body Double: The president has three of those Hubert isn't even sure if the real one survived the assassination.
- Bond Gun Barrel: The trailers show 117's face in a James Bond-like gunbarrel.
- Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: When Breaking the Fourth Wall after his escape in the first trailer, 117 tells this to the viewer:117: If you love animals, women with curls and helicopters, meet up with us on February 3, 2021.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: 117 directly addresses the audience upon escaping in the helicopter in the first trailer, inviting them to watch the film starting February 3, 2021 note , and so does the beautiful woman who pilots the helicopter.
- Broken Pedestal: 1001 used to idolize 117, but quickly comes to see that his luck-based spying skills don't make up in the least for his insufferable personnality.
- Bulungi: The film is set in an unnamed African country that is a former French colony.
- Chekhov's Skill: Hubert is taught early that when a computer doesn't work well you should restart it. He also uses German to scare of animals as Leon the leopard trainer told him German is the best language for taming animals.
- Cool Car: Played with. Hubert is very proud of his special Renault, sent to him by the French secret services. Its only gadgets seem to consist in cigarettes and Suze bottles.
- Forgot Flanders Could Do That: In-universe. After being faced with example after example of 117's stupidity and incompetence, 1001 is both relieved and shocked that he manages to build and code a timed bomb from scratch - it's not enough to restore his Broken Pedestal, though.
- Even Evil Has Standards: President Bamba rigs the election and work with France to maintain power and enrich himself but he will drop his Yes-Man francophiliac attitude when Hubert say something outright racist.
- High Turnover Rate: The agency goes through spies like tissues; 117, when he hears the codename OSS 1001,is surprised that they've already gone through all the 800's and 900's. At the end of the movie, he himself says that although 1001 is dead, he will soon be replaced by a 1002,a 1003 and a 1004.
- Hostage Situation: The film starts as 117 is taken prisoner by Soviet soldiers and filmed to send a message, then escapes on his own.
- Hypocrite: In the second trailer, 117 gets told by his superior that he has to consider Africans as "friends"/"brothers"... then his superior explains that their resources are exploited, without seeing it as a bad thing.
- Logo Joke: The Gaumont Vanity Plate for the film is that of The '80s (see here) instead of a more recent one, to fit the movie's setting.
- The Loins Sleep Tonight: Hubert is now older, and fails to have sex with a woman, apparently for the first time in his life. That leads to many gags as he obsesses over this.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: 117, who else? Though this time he tries to improve things when addressing African people... and fails miserably, which only leads to more Cringe Comedy. Best seen in this exchange with a hotel employee:[117 gives the guy a tip]
Hotel employee: You do that too in France?
117: Oh no, there are much less blacks than here...
[employee gives a weird glance]
117: [feeling he goofed up] And that's a pity! - Shout-Out:
- The international title, From Africa with Love, is an obvious reference to the title of the James Bond film From Russia with Love.
- At some point a communist antagonist fights using a hammer and sickle; this is probably a reference to La Cité de la peur.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: The mid-credits stinger reveals that OSS 1001 actually survived his encounter with the crocodile, though he lost both his legs.
- Snake Charmer: Hubert charms a snake out of his room, playing a kid's show opening theme on an improvised flute.
- Verbal Tic: 117 loved using the word "tantôt" in the previous films. He uses it once again in the film.
- Vote Early, Vote Often: The first democratic election of the African country supervised by France "predict" the president to win with eighty-four percent of the votes.
