The Moebius Affair

In Monaco, the mecca of the rich and beautiful, top Russian spy Grégory Lioubov aka Moïse (Jean Dujardin) and his team are supposed to be tracking down French-American financial expert Alice (Cécile de France) to work for them as an undercover agent, gathering information that can be used against Russian oligarch Ivan Rostovski (Tim Roth). Alice, who was expelled from the U.S. as a contributor to the Lehman bankruptcy, is promised in return that she can return to her old home. The plan initially seems to work when Alice manages to get close to Ivan and gain his trust. Moïse has no idea that his undercover agent is already working for the CIA and has now embarked on an extremely dangerous double-cross. But he senses that something is wrong and therefore breaks one of his most important rules: he approaches the woman, whom he has so far only observed from the background. In no time at all, a very special bond develops between the two, which could have fatal consequences not only for Alice.

The Möbius strip is a geometric figure that resembles a double ring, but it has only one surface and one edge. There is no beginning and no end, no clear inside and outside. The properties of the Möbius strip translate perfectly to the story of Éric Rochant's multi-layered spy thriller. In The Möbius Affair, there is no entirely clear differentiation between good and evil, and even different genres seem to blend together seamlessly here, blending into a whole all their own. While he initially sets up the story very much along the lines of classic spy thrillers, he later indulges in such detail in the tingling romance between Moïse and Alice that the film feels more like a passionate romantic drama here.

Backhanded commentary on the financial crisis ensures that the story feels very contemporary, despite a rather old-fashioned production. Great camerawork, atmospheric music and the convincing acting of the cast can also be credited to the film. That between Oscar winner Jean Dujardin and Cécile de France vigorously sparks, is also not necessarily in the way of a positive overall impression. Nevertheless, so real enthusiasm at the end just does not want to set. The scenes in which Moïse brings Alice to ecstasy are, despite a very tender, aesthetic realization, too much drawn out and thus lose much of the effect that they still radiate at the beginning. Here, Rochant should rather have spent more time to make it clearer why the spy falls for the pretty financial expert in such a way. The fact that he throws to the wind all the rules that made him a true professional in his years as a spy after just one eye contact is hard for the viewer to comprehend.

The deep emotionality that goes into the moments between the two secret lovers is otherwise sadly lacking in the production. As a result, the characters remain a bit one-dimensional and inaccessible, despite the good actors. This in turn results in the film feeling a bit unwieldy overall, which also detracts from the enjoyment a bit. But the biggest shortcoming of Möbius Affair is the finale. Although the film comes across as a bit emotionally underwhelming at times, its convoluted story is still overall very excitingly told and cleverly constructed. However, the final scene between Moïse and Alice just feels flat and far too cheesy in comparison. Especially because the action is actually heading towards a dark but very consistent conclusion, the final twist is rather disappointing despite a certain goosebump factor.

Although the positives outweigh the negatives in the end, the feeling remains that The Möbius Affair could have been an even better and more exciting film. If you appreciate classic spy thrillers and don't mind a fair amount of romance, you'll get appealingly filmed and hauntingly acted suspense cinema with a few lengths. That is enough, with small deductions, for a decent: Worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp