French London Film Tops Charts

We are always interested in cinematic portrayals of London, and we're particularly tickled by the latest news that Espion(s), a London-set French spy thriller is second from the top of the French box office chart. Working the current hot topic of terrorist attacks in big cities and the attendant paranoia, surveillance and epionage activity, we hear that the film was inspired by the 7 July bombings of London in 2005 and draws on fears about public transport coming under attack by stereotypes of Islamist fundamentalists. Only the young French baggage handler coerced by the French governement in to helping MI5 foil the terrorist plot can save us.

From what we've read about Espion(s), London is threatened by copious other stereotypes: the French hero is limited to picturesque wanderings around immaculate (and not very representative) Chelsea, he mingles with mohican-sporting punks in the evenings and MI5 is a chaotic whirl of paperwork and sub-James Bond subterfuge. So it's either 1980 or 1880 in London and we're beyond anything 007 can do to save us. Blimey.

There's no release date for Espion(s) in the UK yet but it's on our playlist for the near future. We can't possibly miss out on the chance to see what lead man Guillaume Canet does as the transplanted French baggage-handler turned spy. "I wanted to make the character as believable as possible," he said. So he'll be going on the strike the second the school summer holiday starts then, oui?