SnoReptilePlenty
Memorable, crazy movie
Listonixio
Fresh and Exciting
JinRoz
For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"Carlos" is a French-German co-production from 2010 (so already over five years old) and it was written and directed by French filmmaker Olivier Assayas. With that background, it is certainly quite a surprising fact that it won a Golden Globe and this also shows how well-done this little mini-series turned out to be. There are all kinds of languages (English, German, French, Spanish...) in here, so unless you are a multi-talent, make sure you get subtitles. This one consists of three episodes of roughly 100-110 minutes each, so if you want to watch it in one sitting, it is quite a challenge. Luckily for me, our local cinema recently decides to re-air it on the occasion of a special film day and this was an opportunity to see these 5.5 hours that I am glad I managed to take. It is pretty impressive how a film with this duration had so very few moments only where I felt that it dragged a bit perhaps. And the heart and soul of it is of course lead actor Edgar Ramírez who plays the title character and is included in almost every scene from start to finish. And when he is not included, then he is still in the center of it all as it is other people talking about his work or organisation.This is the tale of one of the most notorious criminals from the 1970s and 1980s, the years of extreme left-wing terrorism and these are also the ideals he believed in. There are many controversial scenes in the film that are worth discussing in terms of Carlos' character, for example how he decides to cancel the airplane abortion and accept the money offered to him. I still would not say this makes him an opportunist as the other option would have been certain death and of course he wants to live, but really only to further help his cause of what he believes in. The cast also includes several German(-language) actors who should be pretty known to film buffs from my country such as Nora von Waldstätten, Katharina Schüttler or Christoph Bach, who was outstanding in my opinion and probably gave the best supporting performance of the film.Of course, in order to appreciate the work here you will have at least a mild interest in the political developments of the 1970s and 1980s and what the global political climate was like. One of the most interesting aspects of the film was in my opinion how it was not Carlos developing away from terrorism towards the last quarter of the film, but how times have changed so much that he or his deeds just weren't in demand anymore. I do believe nonetheless that the last episode of this mini-series, which is mostly about the main character's decline, was maybe the weakest of the film, but just because the first two were so strong. I still don't believe it was bad at all. I also found it interesting how his comrades screw up on so many levels and occasions when he is not in charge, which also added to the airplane kidnapping sequence being the best about the entire film as it is extremely tense from start to finish and will have you at the edge of your seat for sure. This is where Carlos (the film and the character) peaked in terms of their power and influence. But also scenes like the one in Libya when they just stand there and nobody cares were interesting from a political perspective. These show that in the grand scheme of things, not even Carlos has the power to make it to Iraq. And that one minister constantly sucking up to Carlos was pretty hilarious because you realize how much of a scumbag he is. Anyway, these are obviously just very few scenes (I also have to mention the scene with the French police officers at the apartment and the ending with another French guy, which were both brilliant) and impressions from an extremely long film/mini-series. If you can find a connection with the subject, then this will be an even more rewarding watch I guess. It was quite fun to see it on the big screen for sure. The central character here truly deserves his own movie and even if it says so (they had to do it) that it is a work of fiction, there is a whole lot of truth and real life events in here from start to finish that exactly show us what Carlos' life was like. He is in his late 60s these days and still in jail, probably until his death. Go see it now, Assayas and Ramírez did an amazing job here.
SeriousJest
The life of Ilich Ramírez Sánchez is extremely interesting in its own right, but the success of this project really depended upon Édgar Ramírez, who rose to the occasion in a remarkable way. Through him, the viewer can see the charismatic, ambitious, inspiring, fiery, driven, obsessed, aggressive, narcissistic, lecherous, hot-tempered, morally and ethically flexible person behind the notorious and fearsome reputation of Carlos the Jackal. One also gains pretty good insight into some of what drives, and the development of, revolutionaries, insurgents, terrorists, etc., and this series begs the question of where the line between those different classifications lies. The project also calls out how instrumental governments have been in the success of these non-state combatants, and the ensuing hypocrisy of such governments in denouncing these individuals once their services lose enough value. Additionally, viewers can appreciate a fascinating account of the development of the Cold War from the perspective of its "front-lines" fighters and in constantly shifting international settings. In sum, this is a brilliant series about fascinating people and subjects, brought to life by excellent actors.For more reviews and a kickass podcast, check out: www.livemancave.com
emuir-1
I would have given this production a 10, especially for the superb performance by Edgar Ramirez, except for the lack of subtitling when English was being spoken, and what subtitles did exist were too small to read, even on a large screen TV! Whenever the characters were speaking in their own language, whether it be French, German, Russian, Hungarian or other, it was subtitled, but not when they were speaking in English. As there was not a native English speaking actor in the entire production, the heavy accents were just too hard to understand. This seems to be standard with the English version of French productions in that they only subtitle foreign languages.The performance by Edgar Ramirez was just amazing, especially his changing appearance, not just facial and hair style, but his body appeared thicker and heavier in the later episodes as he aged from a young man to a mature 40 something. I did find it interesting that the terrorists all drank Johnny Walker red label and smoked Marlboros - not a Pasha, Galoise nor a Gitane between them, and boy did they smoke! Why any of them are still alive and not dead of lung cancer or heart attack is a mystery.'Carlos' and the other terrorists were not shown in a sympathetic or glamorous light, but neither were they all black. They came across as deluded fanatics with little sympathy for the victims who they sacrificed for the 'cause', whatever cause that happened to be at the time. 'Carlos' and his followers did not appear to have too many qualms about selling themselves to the highest bidder as terrorists for hire when it suited them; although, some of them were not too happy about being diverted from their Marxist views of equality for all. Of course, there were groupies and hangers on bedazzled by the perceived glamour and excitement more than ideological fervor. Although the Marxist Leninist fanatics and their groupies have had their day, things have not really changed as the Jihad true believers and their foolish female followers, the 'Jihadi brides'and suicide bombers have taken their place. It was interesting to see how the countries who had supported 'Carlos' turned against him when the cold war ended and they had no further use for him. He believe he was untouchable and irreplaceable as they laid out the red carpet for him, but he was only tolerated as long as they had a need for his dirty work. Suddenly he was a pariah and no longer welcome - don't call us, we'll call you! I particularly enjoyed the lack of American involvement in this series. One shudders to think of marines yelling and bawling 'Go, go go' and how they would claim credit for the apprehension and capture of Ramirez, as they claimed credit for capturing the enigma cypher machine from the Germans in WW2 (U-571). Arabs and Muslims would have been the bad guys and the Americans would have saved the day with the help of Israeli back up. The Europeans can do very well on their own, as shown by TV series such as Spiral, Wallender, and Un Village Francais without Uncle Sam hogging center stage.
Navaf
A partly fictionalized biopic of the Venezuelan born, Marxist ideologue, political terrorist, Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, who took the alias Carlos, aka Carlos the Jackal. He is a democrat and a socialist of the Marxist philosophy (devolution of the class and power to the proletariat), who soldered against imperialist, the capitalist west. He joined forces with the Arab revolutionary cause, the PLO, who took up the revolutionary cause during the soviet era. The movie is 3 part or in 3 volumes each of about 2 hours which in whole covers 2 decades of this active revolutionary days, for the cause. The French-German style of directing and the artistic depiction of the decade is of the most excellent appeal. Édgar Ramírez who played Carlos is the main highlight for without his strong acting presence the movie/mini series would be have been just average. A must watch.
