For a good part of this one, I felt it was a light, playful, and comedic version of a James Bond film, as the protagonist (Jean-Paul Belmondo) finds himself sucked into a series of dangerous escapades pursuing some guys who've kidnapped his girlfriend (Françoise Dorléac) and taken her to Rio de Janeiro. They've done that because she knows something about one of three ancient sculptures plundered from an archaeological site and divvied up by her father, a professor, and a Brazilian aristocrat. The sculptures hold some secret, and the chase is on after one is stolen from a Parisian museum. At a stretch, you could say the film even has a little French nod to Hitchcock, as our hero finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, with guys trying to kill him - for example, in a dirt lot with cars bearing down on him from multiple directions, which reminded me a little of Cary Grant in the biplane scene of North by Northwest.
However, there's never any real tension, nor is there any intended - just zany fun, without regard to how silly or improbable some aspects of the story are. The film is going for pure entertainment, blending comedy, romance, and action, with stunts and some beautiful on-location footage in Brazil on top of it all. I loved the scenes with the young shoeshine boy with the cool house (even if it is odd that he drinks whiskey lol), and the dancing Dorléac does with a group of Brazilians. I would have liked it more had some of the silliness been dialed down a little, but I suppose that's part of the charm, and it was entertaining. The ending sequence is also very strong, and clearly referenced in the Indiana Jones films.
However, there's never any real tension, nor is there any intended - just zany fun, without regard to how silly or improbable some aspects of the story are. The film is going for pure entertainment, blending comedy, romance, and action, with stunts and some beautiful on-location footage in Brazil on top of it all. I loved the scenes with the young shoeshine boy with the cool house (even if it is odd that he drinks whiskey lol), and the dancing Dorléac does with a group of Brazilians. I would have liked it more had some of the silliness been dialed down a little, but I suppose that's part of the charm, and it was entertaining. The ending sequence is also very strong, and clearly referenced in the Indiana Jones films.