An Appreciation by Jerry Saravia
The sheer joy from one exacting frame to the next, from one dazzling action-filled sequence to the next, is evident in Philippe de Broca's "That Man From Rio." Context is needed here for a 1964 international production so think of it as the Charlie Chaplin movie that was never made - a high-spirited, frenetically paced action-adventure movie with a sly wink to the audience containing an unusual hero who flies, glides and runs across the screen much like Chaplin would've. Maybe even a dash of Fred Astaire is here as well.
Jean-Paul Belmondo is Adrien Dufourquet, a simple French Air Force pilot who loves his Agnes (the elegant and luminous Francoise Dorleac), his fiancée, and witnesses her being kidnapped and runs after her as he jumps through a window! He finds a motorcycle and chases her, finds her at Orly airport, has no ticket yet he finds entry with an old man in a wheelchair that had me rolling with laughter! This is just the beginning, and never mind that the movie opens with a museum robbery where an antique Brazilian statue is stolen. "That Man From Rio" never lets up, taking us from Paris to Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia and finally the deep corners of a jungle where three antique statues need to be placed in their proper places to allow the sunlight to reveal the location of priceless diamonds! (Yep, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" reference that also harks back to 1954's "The Secret of the Incas"). We also got a shoeshine boy named Sir Winston (Ubiracy De Oliveira, who has a contagious laugh) who figures in the action in the most unexpected and hilarious ways. We also have time for energetic Brazilian dancing and some bossa nova music, and a scene at some dive with a tremendous singer (Simone Renant) that evokes Old Hollywood that leads to a spectacular barroom brawl.
It helps that Belmondo is a hell of a hopeless romantic hero who wants nothing more than to find and be with Agnes - he could care less about antique statues or villainous men dreaming of wealth beyond their dreams (Adolfo Celi as a rich industrialist and Jean Servais as a museum curator round out the incredible cast but I wont' say which one is the bad guy). Adrien will fly a plane uncontrollably and, thrillingly, upside down. Adrien will run across unique landscapes in Brasilia such as several seemingly empty Modernist buildings and towers and a construction site with scaffolds that results in one of the biggest laughs of the entire movie (I would not dream of giving it away). The daring escapades and car chases (including driving a pink car with green stars) are dizzying and breathless, all as well executed and perfectly timed as any "Mission: Impossible" flick. Belmondo's Adrien has a Harold Lloyd moment on a building facade that goes way beyond what Lloyd ever accomplished (and that's saying something). Belmondo and De Broca always try to one-up previous cinematic stunts and every shot seems to hold on long enough so that we see Belmondo accomplishing death-defying moments that will make you fear for his safety and wince.
Witty, hysterically funny, sporadically spoofing James Bond, and showcasing Belmondo and Dorleac as true, genuine, charismatic movie stars who happened to be good actors as well, "That Man From Rio" is bound to entertain anyone who wants pure escapism and breathtaking vistas with a hero you can root for. Its popularity certainly paved the way for Indiana Jones and most other tongue-in-cheek action-adventure flicks. This film is also special to me because my father introduced me to it over 40 years ago, and I am eternally grateful. It is one of the stepping stones to my growing interest in international cinema. Bravo!
