Daniel Craig fared well in his James Bond casting, carrying the fictionally-renowned MI6 agent through five successful films between 2006 and 2021. But we haven’t seen a new Bond film since “No Time to Die,” and the upcoming “007 First Light” only scratches the 007 itch for the gaming crowd. While there are plenty of great Bond films streaming on Netflix and other platforms, you can only rewatch “Casino Royale” so many times before it starts to lose its cinematic powers (although that opening chase scene will always deliver).
For those willing to be open-minded about the spy sub-genre, there’s a fantastic Belgian film, released in 2025, that any deep-cut Bond fan would likely find engaging. “Reflection in a Dead Diamond” is written and directed by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, and stars Fabio Testi as John Diman, a retired spy living out his days in the French Riviera. When a neighbor John is fixated on suddenly goes missing, John begins reminiscing about his espionage career — vignettes presented to us in a ’70s stylized fashion.
As the film progresses, the line between reality and fiction becomes increasingly blurred. You may even start questioning if Mr. Diman was ever a secret agent, or just a paid actor? It’s the kind of multi-layered, perplexing film you’ll want to see more than once to absorb its many cinematic layers. At the time of this writing, “Reflection in a Dead Diamond” was available to stream on Shudder, and it can also be rented through Prime Video and AMC+.
Reflection in a Dead Diamond is hypnotic, convoluted, and deceptive, and that’s why it’s great
“Reflection in a Dead Diamond” earned a 78 out of 100 on Metacritic (based on seven reviews), and film critic Michael Talbot-Haynes (writing for Film Threat) said, “Every frame will blow your baby dome to smithereens, as I can guarantee you have seen nothing like this.” While there are sure to be some linear narrative beats, it sounds like “Reflection” may have just as much in common with a film like “Memento” as it does the greater Bond canon.
Solid spy thrillers can be difficult to come by, especially when some of the best in the genre vanish from the streaming landscape (like this 2016 spy thriller with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score). Like any movie genre, though, the wider the net you cast, the better your odds are of finding something new and memorable. “Reflection” may not be the type of film that all audiences will love, but Bond devotees may certainly be intrigued.
If you end up watching “Reflection” and enjoy it, writer-director duo Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani have a few other films under their belt, including the 2017 neo-noir Western thriller “Let the Corpses Tan,” which can be streamed on Shudder or rented via Prime Video and AMC+.
