Whanganui Film Society plays That Man from Rio

Francoise Dorléac and Jean-Paul Belmondo in a scene from That Man from Rio.

Whanganui Film Society's offering next week is Philippe de Broca's 1964 film That Man from Rio (L'homme de Rio) starring Jean Paul Belmondo and Catherine Deneuve's older sister Francoise Dorléac who died tragically young in 1967.

The film has been described as a "preposterous thriller" and Village Voice reviewer Stephanie Zacharek found it delightful.

"A crazy delight, a stylish, early-60s pastiche that folds in every adventure-movie cliché you've ever seen, and possibly invents a few new ones," she wrote.

"De Broca ... orchestrates all this mishegas [craziness] with verve and wicked wit, and in vibrant, widescreen colour, no less.

"The too-muchness is the fun, though de Broca still finds ways to let the charm of his actors shine through: A scene in which the very proper Parisian Agnès dances barefoot with a group of adorable Brazilian kids makes the most of Dorléac's dazzling, impish energy.

"And you haven't lived until you've seen Belmondo's Adrien come this close to parachuting into the jaws of a peckish, waiting crocodile.

"Everybody loves Belmondo - just not always for the right reasons."

That Man from Rio screens courtesy of the Embassy of France and is a new digitally restored version.

Film Society half-year memberships are available to purchase online at whanganuifilmsociety.org.nz at $45 or $40 discounted (for students, Gold Card holders and Community Service Card holders).

Memberships can also be purchased at the theatre before screenings.

That Man from Rio screens at the Davis Theatre, Whanganui Regional Museum, Watt St, on Monday, August 28 at 7pm.