A box-office sensation in France, OSS 117: Le Caire, nid d'espion stars comic & handsome Jean Dujardin as secret agent Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, a.k.a. OSS 117 who in the tradition of Maxwell Smart and Inspector Clouseau somehow succeeds in spite of his ineptitude.

After a fellow agent and close friend is murdered, Hubert is ordered to take his place at the head of a poultry firm in Cairo. This is to be his cover while he investigates Jack's death, monitors the Suez Canal, checks up on the Brits and Soviets, burnishes France's reputation, quells a fundamentalist rebellion and brokers peace in the Middle East. A blithe and witty send-up not only of spy films of that era and the suave secret agent figure but also neo-colonialism, ethnocentrism and the very idea of Western covert action in the Middle East. The film is also a gorgeous reconstitution of the 1960's-era sets and costumes.

The film is based on the popular pulp novels by Jean Bruce. Bruce wrote 91 OSS 117 novels, beginning with Tu parles d'une ingénue (Ici OSS 117) in 1949, predating Ian Flemming’s James Bond 007 by 4 years. After Bruce's death in 1963, his wife Josette started writing the OSS novels in his place. Several films based on Bruce's novels were shot in the 1950's and 1960's. The sequel to OSS 117: Le Caire, nid d'espion, OSS 117: Rio ne répond plus will be released in France in 2009.

Michel Hazanavicius talks about his film: “Our OSS 177 is anchored in his era, he is misogynistic, colonialist, homophobic…he’s a synthesis of sorts! Everything that’s not French, white, male and of his age, is inferior to him. Obviously, the whole discourse of the film, if indeed there is one, is to laugh at all of it! (but) OSS 117 is everything excepts mean. His complete good faith gives him a childlike side. This clears him”.

Shown with C'est dimanche ! (It's Sunday) by Samir Guesmi - Director will attend.