Sundance: Angel-A Movie Review

Luc Besson has lost his mind. If Arthur and the Invisibles was not enough to convince you of this fact, Angel-A nails it home. Angel-A is a Black and White French film with English subtitles about a guy who vaguely reminds me of Besson, who can't seem to get anything right. He's over 50 grand in debt, a felon from the United States with no where to run. He decides to try to commit suicide but as it turns out he can't even do that right.

He ends up saving a chain-smoking tall blonde model (who coincidentally looks like every girlfriend Besson has had in the last 20 years). Angela is forever in his debit and becomes the genie in a bottle he's been looking and hoping for. Or perhaps she is an Angel sent from Heaven to help him learn self respect and to tell the truth. But when Andre falls in love with Angela, things become far more complicated.

Angel-A is an unsuccessful modern day comic fable with a Hollywood ending. The movie as a whole just doesn't work. The love story is far from believable. To think that this guy took THAT long to fall for a beautiful model with god-like superpowers is ridiculous. Besson had some interesting ideas but delivered them in the style that only he can, hitting moment after moment on the head. Subtle is not in the man's vocabulary. The cinematography is better fit for an action film.

/Film Rating: 4 out of 10Written and Directed by: Luc BessonCast: Jamel Debbouze, Rie RasmussenRating: R for language and some sexual content.Runtime: 90 minCountry: FranceLanguage: French / SpanishColor: Black and White