Carlos

Aroview: An explosive, globe-trotting biopic of Venezuelan terrorist and fugitive Ilich Ramírez Sánchez – aka Carlos the Jackal – whose exploits in the 70s and 80s thrust him onto the front pages of world news as a poster boy for left-wing radicalism.

Propelled by the jet-setting, rockstar lifestyle that Carlos led when he wasn’t masterminding brazen attacks for the liberation of Palestine, this is easily the most energetic and enthralling of the recent crop of thrillers valorising the deeds of revolutionary individuals. However, unlike THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX (which follows a parallel timeline and in some instances, overlaps), dir. Assayas moves the action well beyond ideology and idealism, giving us a three-dimensional portrait of a man whose international notoriety largely belied his lack of progress and competency as a self-made extremist.

Though a hard-and-fast theatrical version is available, we recommend viewing the film in its original three-part miniseries form; if not for the complete picture, then for a hugely impressive example of long-form storytelling and character development, with Edgar Ramírez’s magnetic, multilingual central performance another highlight worth witnessing in full.

NZ International Film Festival 2010

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