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Mata Hari, Agent H21

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5.6/10 • 26

1964-01-291h 38m

DramaHistoryRomanceWar

Ordered to seduce French captain and steal from him classified papers, Mata Hari, an exotic dancer and a spy, instead falls in love with him and blows the cover.

Directors
Jean-Louis Richard
Editors
Kenout Peltier

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Jeanne Moreau

    Jeanne Moreau

    Mata Hari

  2. Jean-Louis Trintignant

    Jean-Louis Trintignant

    Captain François Lasalle

  3. Claude Rich

    Claude Rich

    Julien the Chauffeur

  4. Henri Garcin

    Henri Garcin

    Gaston

  5. Georges Riquier

    Georges Riquier

    Ludovic

  6. Frank Villard

    Frank Villard

    Colonel Emile Pelletier / Legrand

  7. Albert Rémy

    Albert Rémy

    Adam Zelle

  8. Hella Petri

    Hella Petri

    La baronne du Maine

  9. Nicole Desailly

    Nicole Desailly

    Charlotte

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Nov 20, 2024

6/10

I thought for a moment it was Gale Sondergaard under the bejewelled crown, but no - it's Jeanne Moreau as the eponymous lady who charms the pants, literally, from the French soldiers from whom she exacts more than kisses. She lives well on the proceeds of her courtesanship, but she also augments that cash by working for the Bosch towards the end of the Great War enabling them to acquire useful French state secrets. She is cold and calculating until she encounters "Lasalle" (Jean-Louis Trintignant). There's something about him that permeates her hitherto impervious armour, and though that doesn't stop her using him, unusually she begins to care. That's dangerous thing for both of them, and when he discovers that she is still trying to tap up his superiors, he decides to abandon ship before he gets hurt - well emotionally, anyway. Physically, well some shrapnel soon lays him low and brings her to his side for a reconciliation, and from her perspective, a bit of a reassessment of her priorities. Is it all too late, though? The drama is portrayed in just a bit too staccato a fashion here and though I did think there was some chemistry between the two, the story unfolds in quite an episodic manner with little real emotion to explain why she connected with him, or even why she was up to no good in the first place. Some context on that score might have elicited a little more sympathy for her but it's not there so it's left to be a slightly disappointing soapy melodrama with espionage trimmings. I did quite enjoy it, but it could have been better.

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    Status
    Released
    Original Language
    French
    Budget
    --
    Revenue
    --
    Keywords
    world war isecret agentbased on true storyromancefemme fataleexecutionsecret serviceexotic dancer