Risky Business

For hundreds of years the French have been good for only three things: cheese, champagne and the phrase "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" Aside from those gems, Napoleon's country has had very little to show for itself, but when filmmaking spread its way across its borders, France found one...

By Clay Swartz

July 27, 2006

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18855504",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17105533",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105532",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105535",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

For hundreds of years the French have been good for only three things: cheese, champagne and the phrase "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" Aside from those gems, Napoleon's country has had very little to show for itself, but when filmmaking spread its way across its borders, France found one more thing to be proud of. With figures such as Jean-Luc Godard and Claude Chabrol headlining France's cinematic charge, it's no wonder that America is watching their movies. This weekend the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St., will show one of these classic films as part of its Magnolia at the Modern film series. Classe Tous Risques (or The Big Risk) is a stylish crime drama that follows the story of two roughnecks who pull off a daytime heist in Italy. Afterward they make a run for it to France, only to find that their getaway plans have been sabotaged. Think the action and fun of Ocean's Eleven meets Lethal Weapon's buddy gimmick but better...honestly. The film plays at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday. Visit themodern.org.
July 28-30

KEEP THE OBSERVER FREE... Since we started the Dallas Observer, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.