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Showing posts with label Oliver Assayas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oliver Assayas. Show all posts

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Carlos -- conversations, cigarettes and women


London, Paris, Beirut and back to Paris again. All in the opening 10 minutes. In the next 20 minutes, Hague, Yemen and Vienna are added to the travel itinerary. Welcome to the world of Carlos. A world defined by the constant lighting up of cigarettes, intense conversations about revolution, kidnappings and assassinations, and steamy sessions of sexual intercourse. Olivier Assayas' remarkable film is not a history lesson but instead picks certain key moments from Carlos’ life and weaves them into a coherent work that allows the audience to get a sense of Carlos’ ideas, his lovers and his shifting views. The three part film depicts Carlos’ transformation from a revolutionary with ideas to topple the system into a mercenary, a gun for hire. By the conclusion of the film, Carlos is a washed up terrorist who poses no real terror threat to anyone. So it is not surprizing to discover that he is captured at this stage, when he is fat, has no money or friends. Assayas is also interested in using the film as a lens to depict the complex international political games where rival enemy nations become friends the next day and vice versa.

Money, Passport & Diplomatic immunity

Any large scale terrorist operation requires money, lots of it. Surprizingly money is relatively easy to obtain for terrorists as almost all governments seem to have some set aside for destructive purposes. The rich nations spend oodles of money not only on their armies and weapons and but also on supporting rival nation’s groups, while less fortunate nations also allocate money for individual groups/mercenaries to carry out their terror plots. With money being no issue, it is a bigger challenge to obtain diplomatic immunity as only few nations can offer that security to hide terrorists.

Assayas’ film illustrates that no large scale terrorist operation can take place without a government’s knowledge. That government could be a domestic one or it could be a rival nation but some level of government has to be involved for a terrorist to slip through international borders undetected. For example, in the film it is the Syrian government that gives Carlos a diplomatic passport with a fake identity enabling him to easily fly across various countries and receive weapons in diplomatic packages. In Eastern Europe, Carlos plays the Soviet Union comrade card and gets full cooperation from East Berlin all the way through to the Kremlin because he proclaims to be fighting for communist ideals, while managing to fight for Palestinian freedom & Arab values at the same time. His words allow him to setup base in Hungary in full view of the Hungarian police who are powerless to stop him initially but only ask Carlos to leave after international pressures force the Hungarian government to distance themselves from him.

All the intelligence and spy missions won’t come close to arresting a major terrorist as long as he is protected by a diplomatic umbrella. Once that umbrella is removed, then rival spy services can move in and claim their prize. The French, aided by American intelligence, capture Carlos in Sudan but that was made possible because Carlos had outlived his usefulness and the Syrians gave him up.

Mirror Mirror

On one hand, one can understand Carlos’ political agenda by observing his interactions with governments/diplomats. On the other hand, Carlos’ relationship with the various women offer an insight into his insecurities and emotions. If the casting of Édgar Ramírez is perfect for Carlos, then the various women roles are perfectly cast as well as they form a valuable aspect for deciphering Carlos.

At the start of the film, Carlos is shown to be sophisticated, charming and brimming with revolutionary ideas. It is not surprizing to find him associate with an equally charming revolutionary over fine dining. At this stage, Carlos is mostly about ideas with very little action under his belt.


Once Carlos achieves success with his actions, his growing fame allows him to attract starry eyed admirers, whom he naturally educates about revolution. It is clear that Carlos will not associate with any woman who has a differing opinion to his and as a result he opts for a young woman willing to worship his every move.


The young girl is mesmerized by Carlos and his weapons. Carlos can merely utter words such as Weapons are an extension of my body and the girl is willing to have a foreplay session with a grenade.


But Carlos draws too much attention to himself and has to leave the country. Ofcourse, it does not matter where Carlos ends up because he can bed any woman. A fling on the beach with an unnamed woman follows.


Throughout his life, Carlos continued to utter his allegiance for the Palestinian cause even when he completely drifted away from any Palestinian issue. As Carlos’ revolutionary ideas are moulded into cold blooded killings, he meets his match in Magdalena Kopp in a Baghdad hotel. Magdalena is the only woman Carlos encounters who carries a gun and the two hit if off. Her icy behaviour mirrors the cold war nations they find themselves in and the Eastern Europe phase in Carlos’ life.


Carlos is shown to get easily bored, so it is not surprizing to see him get tired of Magdalena, especially after she has their child, thereby reducing her sexual appeal. By this stage in his life, Carlos is fat and not the thin suave man he once was. So predictably Carlos yearns for a youthful lover and he finds a perfect match in an innocent college student, who is willing to quietly stand by her man, through his worsening health.


The film shows that women were Carlos’ weakness. Even if he had a girlfriend or a wife, he still sought out sexual pleasure via prostitutes. On two occasions, Carlos’ interactions with prostitutes allow police/government to get information about him. In Sudan, Carlos lived under a false identity but he was discovered after a prostitute encounter reveals his lie. The discovery starts a chain of events which leads to his capture.

only 5.5 hours?

At first, the film’s total running time seems daunting. However, Carlos moves at such a brisk pace that the length is never felt. The film quickly weaves through the globe in Part I, focuses mainly on the botched hijacking in Part II and finally slows down to catch its breath midway through the third part but by then one wants to hold onto each passing minute tightly before the film’s inevitable conclusion.

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Mid-way through the Film Festival

The festival has reached its halfway point and what better time to take the night off and recharge for the final four movie packed days. So here’s the news so far:

Day One: Friday, Sept 24

Of the three movies I had originally planned to see, I could only attend the midnight feature, Saw (from America by James Wan). The two that I missed were August Sun (from Srilanka) and Kamchatka (Argentina).

Saw (directed by James Wan): Rating a solid 9/10

A midnight feature is deemed to be cultish, gory, scary, etc. Saw is not as gory as the original version that premiered at Sundance, but it is still a stellar movie. The opening scenes are some of the best I have seen this year. Picture this:

The movie opens in darkness with a man immersed in a bathtub with a blade looking device escaping down the drain. The man hears another man’s voice. The other man says he has found a light switch. The lights come on slowly, one by one. Two men, strangers to each other, find themselves on opposite corners of a large, dirty bathroom. In the middle of the bathroom floor, equidistant from the two men, is a man lying dead, face down in his blood with a gun in one hand (part of his head seems blown off). Both men have one of their legs chained to the pipes on the wall. The men can’t remember why they are here? Who has brought them? What’s going on?

The movie then unfolds brilliantly. Echoes of Seven and Cube come to mind. But this movie stands on its own. The only negative point is a bit of slack near the ending but usually with this kind of genre, the endings try to achieve too much. A worthy see nonetheless. And when you consider this is an effort from a first time director, then the movie seems an even greater achievement.

Day Two: Saturday, Sept 25

11’09”01 – 11 different directors with each short film lasting 11 minutes, 9 seconds and one frame.

There are some interesting flicks in this one and some which will offend for sure. Here is a quick rating of each one

1) Segment from Iran by Samira Makhmalbaf: Rating 6/10

For some reason I didn’t take to this one. It is set in Iran dealing with refugee Afghani children and their school teacher trying to tell them about the incident. Topics of God and destruction are brought up.

2) Segment from France by Claude Lelouch: Rating 7/10
Set in New York dealing with a deaf, mute woman whose is on the verge of breaking up with her boyfriend (who works as a tour guide in the Trade Centers).

3) Segment from Egypt by Youssef Chahine: Rating 6/10

It brings up interesting ideas of a certain country's foreign policies and killing of innocent people but does not have a consistent flow. Also, made with the mood of a typical Egyptian movie (with dramatic background music)

4) Segment from Bosnia-Herzegovina by Danis Tanovic: Rating 9/10

An emotional piece which shows that one must keep on demonstrating even though no progress is being made.

5) Segment from Burkina Faso by Idrissa Ouedraogo: Rating 10/10

This was the only humorous segement. A boy believes he has seen Bin Laden in his small African village and rounds up his friends to nab Bin Laden so that they can claim the 25 million dollar prize.

6) Segment from United Kingdom by Ken Loach: Rating 10/10

This is the best of the lot. It shows an exiled Chilean in London remembering Sept 11, 1973 when America helped dispose of Chile’s government and supported the installation of Pinochet’s dictatorship.

7) Segment from Israel by Amos Gitai: Rating 8/10

This was a good episode which showed the media circus that follows real life terrorist incidents news reporting.

8) Segment from Mexico by Alejandro Inarritu: Rating 9/10

Powerful. Effective. And ends with the words “Does God's light guide us or blind us?”

9) Segment from USA by Sean Penn: Rating 10/10

Sheer genius. But the one to offend most people. It can be interpreted in a number of ways.

10) Segment from India by Mira Nair: Rating 7/10

Based on a true life story about a Pakistani person mistakenly judged as a terrorist in New York because of America’s blanket 1984 laws.

11) Segment from Japan by Shohei Imamura: Rating 3/10

This one sticks out from the rest. Set in 1945 Japan. A solider returns from the war and chooses to live like a snake rather than be human. The movie ends with the snake saying “There is no such thing as a Holy War”.


Clean (directed by Oliver Assayas): Rating 6/10

Oh the hype. Maggie Cheung won the Best Actress award for this movie at Cannes this year. And yet, she is the weakest element in this movie. The movie lacks any emotion and is cold and un-interesting. The only time Maggie acts with emotion is when she switches to Cantonese but in French and English, she delivers her lines with zero emotion. A huge let-down.

Kontroll (directed by Nimrod Antal): Rating 10/10

The buzz around this Hungarian movie ensured the line-up’s were huge and people were turned away. And what a movie it is!!!! The movie follows the lives of the underground subway metro staff on their daily routines – the insanity, the male power games, the inner turmoils, hilarious passengers, etc. The first half is a hilarious movie but the second half explores the shades of darkness lurking beneath.

Day 3: Sunday, Sept 26

Hukkle (directed by Gyorgy Palfi): Rating 7/10 


No dialogues, but simply beautiful countryside of a small Hungarian town. An old man hiccups while life moves at a snail’s pace. In between the close up shots of snakes, insects, water, fishes, pig’s behind, there is a murder taking place. Enough clues are shown for us to piece together who was killed and how. A very offbeat movie which demonstrates the power of images.

Nathalie (directed by Anne Fontaine): Rating 9/10

A classic French movie. Emmanuelle Beart and Fanny Ardant are just perfect in their roles but Gerard Depardieu is not given much to do.

Nothing (directed by Vincenzo Natali): Rating 7/10

I headed into this movie only because it was by the director of the cult hit, Cube. The movie starts off poorly but really kicks into high gear after the first 20 minutes. The premise is best not told but that two friends who are social outcasts find themselves stranded in white empty space.

Note: The other option instead of Nothing was the Swedish movie, Kopps. Everyone I have talked to says that Kopps was hilarious. And sure enough, Hollywood is planning to remake this movie.

Day 4: Monday, Sept 27

I passed up the chance to watch the Czech movie, Zelary and award winning French movie, Since Otar Left. From word of mouth, it seems Zelary was well received.

The Shield (directed by Frederic Provost): Rating 6/10

I was disappointed by this French action movie. The slow and dull start really dampened things but the movie eventually managed to pick up.

Day 5: Tuesday, Sept 28

Choker Bali (directed by Rituparno Ghosh): Rating 6/10


This was the first time in the festival that my view of the screen was blocked by tall people sitting in front making it was hard to read all the subtitles. The movie started 20 minutes late and since I wanted to make the Brazilian movie later in the night, I had to leave the theater with 20 minutes to go. Will have to catch up with it later on.

Man of the Year (directed by Jose Henrique Fonseca): Rating 8/10

The hype around the movie was staggering because everyone had compared it to City of God. Well the movie is not as good as City of God but it is a good movie. A man loses a soccer bet and has to dye his hair blond. From then on, his life takes a completely different turn. Shades of Scarface, City of God, and every other slick gangster movie out there. Visually the movie is really good (the cinematography oozes with coolness, right out of a Michael Mann movie).
Note: For the second time in the night, it was hard to read the subtitles. This time we sat in the 2nd last row (as opposed to the 6th row from the front in Choker Bali) and a cascading stream of heads made it impossible to sit still. Apparently everyone around had the same problem.