Angel-A

A desperate man in serious debt attempts to wipe his account clean in the most permanent way imaginable, only to find himself saved from a grim, self-inflicted demise by his selfless attempt to rescue another would-be suicide in director Luc Besson’s tenth outing as a director. André (Jamel Debbouze) is a debt-ridden 28-year-old who has until midnight to pay back 40,000 euros to one of Paris’ most ruthless gangsters. When the menacing Franck (Gilbert Melki) has his thugs dangle André over the edge of the Eiffel Tower soon thereafter, the debtor who views himself as an American on a technicality seeks the help of the U.S. Embassy to no avail. After failing to convince the local police to lock him up for his own protection, André, sensing death is eminent, determines to end his life on his own terms. As André steps over the edge of the city’s most awe-inspiring bridges and prepares to take that fateful plunge, he suddenly notices a statuesque blonde in a little black dress preparing to meet her maker in a similar fashion. As the woman leaps into the Seine, André instinctively jumps in to rescue her. Resting safely on the shore after looking death straight in the eye, the sorrowful pair soon finds their fates inexorably tied. Though André initially scolds the ravishing Angela (Rie Rasmussen) for attempting to deprive the world of such stunning beauty, she bitterly assures her one-armed savior that her physical perfection is without question only skin deep. Nevertheless the aggressive blonde betrays her own negative self-image by pledging to stick by André through thick and thin, and the unlikely duo soon sets out on a mission to solve André’s formidable list of problems and get his life back in order again., Andre is a man who gets a second chance in life when he meets Angela, a tall, femme fatale whom he saves from a suicide bid in the Seine River. The two spend a memorable summer night in nearly deserted Paris where Angela exposes herself as a true angel, sent down to save Andre from himself., A beautiful celestial messenger takes a suicidal loser under her wing., A suicidal loser (Jamel Debbouze) who’s gotten himself into an ungodly mess with a dangerous loanshark, is taken under the wing of a beautiful celestial messenger (Rie Rasmussen) in this captivating Gallic take on “It’s a Wonderful Life,” written and directed by Luc Besson. The gorgeous and enchanting Rasmussen delivers a bravura performance and Debbouze is a scruffy charmer as her project. Besson also served as producer. Serge Riaboukine, Gilbert Melki, Laurent Jumeaucourt, Akim Chir.