Carlos

Starring: Edgar Ramirez, Ahmad Kaabour, Alexander Sheer

Synopsis:

The saga of Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, aka 'Carlos', an international terrorist who allied himself to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the 1970s, organising a number of terrorist activities throughout Europe, culminating in the kidnapping of OPEC officials in Austria and escaping to Algiers. Later thrown out of the PFLP, Carlos worked for various anti-western countries, including the USSR, The Yemen and Sudan, before being betrayed and handed over to French Authorities...

Review:

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE FULL MINI-SERIES, RATHER THAN THE RE-EDITED FILM VERSION.

“Carlos” literally starts with a bang, as the European head of the PLFP is assassinated by the Mossad, creating a vacuum that the young Ilich Ramirez Sanchez is eager to fill. A fervent Marxist from Venezuela, Sanchez meets with Wadie Hadad (Kaabour), who feels he doesn’t have the experience –yet.

Carlos’ first job is to assassinate the chairman of Marks and Spenser (!), but he only manages to severely wound him in an exciting home invasion. Following this, he works with a number of terrorist cells, including one from Japan, who attack an embassy. What is interesting is how easy it is for the terrorists to get away with their schemes. Even when things go wrong, they are able to exert pressure on the authorities to meet their demands. No one has come up with “We don’t negotiate with terrorists” yet. To make matters worse, there are plenty of anti-western countries who are eager to be seen to assist these terrorists.

“Carlos” is a monumental undertaking by Assayas. Not only is the detail meticulous – the clothes, hairstyles, cars, weapons, music – but the acting is spot on across the board. Of course, Edgar Ramirez rules the roost as Carlos, an enigmatic show-boat. Check out the scene where he and his men take over the OPEC conference: “My name is Carlos. Perhaps you have heard of me!” You can’t help but draw comparisons to “We’re Bonnie and Clyde. We rob banks!” or even “Yoohoo! I’ll make you famous!” (Young Guns 2). You always get a sense that Carlos is doing what he does as much for the fame as does for any political cause. There is a great scene where he telephones the Reuters news agency to claim responsibility for the attempt at shooting down an Israeli airliner – only to be told that another, more obscure organisation has taken the credit!

There are times when you feel that Carlos is making up his own rules as he goes along, sometimes contradicting his own ethos, such as when he accepts money from Saudi Arabia “for the cause”. You are never left in doubt however that the man is incredibly dangerous. Witness the moment he casually tosses a time-bomb into a busy Jewish cafe.

Assayas is keen to point out that the film is merely a fiction, a dramatisation of events and not “fact”, as the only actual events that can by tied directly to him are the murders of a French policeman and the man who used to be his boss in Europe. The film cleverly interjects real news footage showing the aftermath and/or outcome of each of Carlos’ acts of terrorism.

Even at nearly 6 hours in length, Carlos never gets boring, and is often full of exciting set pieces. However by going the full distance with Carlos ’s escapades means things do taper off towards the end as he is “protected” by various countries following the demise of the Cold War. Still, it remains riveting right until the end.

Verdict:

Anyone who is a fan of Mesrine, Che or the Baader-Meinhof Complex owe it to themselves to check this out. Opt for the long version and immerse yourself in an action packed, detailed historic drama.

8 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)

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