Angel-A, 2005

Start with the obvious: it's a Luc Besson movie, so of course it's beautiful. The choice of black and white works so well for both a timeless city like Paris and a new twist on an old story such as this film presents. On top of that, the casting is spot on. I didn't know what to expect from Rie Rasmussen...we expect super models to be vapid. But she was perfect for this role, able to portray a range of emotions that most "real" actresses should envy. Debbouze looks like one of those scruffy criminal-scamps from an old French casbah film, but what makes his performance so great is that he convincingly fills in the human blanks of those bit-part characters of cinematic yore. This film would've gotten five stars from me if not for two problems. The first one is simple enough--Besson used some simplistic visual tricks that are the domain of lesser directors. I expect more from him. The second problem, again minor, is that this story is merely a variation on a theme that's been with us at least since "It's a Wonderful Life." Granted, it's a nice variation on what was already a nice story, but it can't be called the most original. All in all, I found this to be a fast-moving film with the visual beauty we've come to expect from Besson and two very nice performances from Rasmussen and Debbouze--it didn't bore me once and I recommend it to all.

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