aixcentric

‘Lupin’ is a French crime drama starring Omar Sy as a Parisian janitor who hatches a plan to steal Marie Antoinette’s necklace from the Louvre.  The five-part series follows Assane Diop (Omar Sy), who was inspired by the stories of fictional thief Arsène Lupin, to organise the theft to avenge his father’s death 25 years beforehand. It’s very fast-moving, witty and engrossing television (the trailer below will give you a taste).

Released 8th January, it has proved to be an enormous hit already for Netflix, appearing in the top three most-watched shows on the streaming service.  This is a great boost for French film-making which doesn’t often get the global recognition it deserves.  Now it can be seen by 195m subscribers.

It’s 10 years since Omar Sy burst on to the scene in ‘Intouchables‘ with a terrific comedic performance as a carer for a rich tetraplegic Parisian.  The production which cost 9.5m€ took 360m€ at the box office, France’s second biggest hit, after ‘Bienvenue Chez les Ch’tis’.  Sy won a César award and has gone on to take part in various films but has since moved to LA to further his career.  He told Paris Match that he wanted his 5 children to experience another culture to add to France and Senegal, and also perfect his English.

In Assane Diop (in Lupin) he said he’d found ‘le role parfait’ and I couldn’t agree more.  Guaranteed escapism!