Modesty Blaise

Joseph Losey's screen adaptation of the 1960s British comic strip Modesty Blaise is a camp, star-studded pop-art romp that brilliantly satirises the Bond-mania of the time. In her first English-language role, Italian star Monica Vitti incarnates the British comic-strip heroine Modesty Blaise blending Barbarella-style allure with Bond-style espionage capers. Joined by a cockney sidekick (Terence Stamp), Modesty sets out to thwart a diamond-theft scheme hatched by super-villain Gabrielle (Dirk Bogarde). But forget the plot, it's the least important part - instead immerse yourself in the riot of colour, Monica Vitti's outfits and the outrageous sets and props; will Dirk Bogarde really drink from that exaggeratedly sized wine glass?! Modesty Blaise is not a film you would immediately identify with the exiled American director Joseph Losey (whose 1967 film Accident, more typical of his work at that time, is also screening at the festival), but he crafts a visually playful pop-art fantasy that puts the swing into the Swinging Sixties.