Review of Carlos (2010) by Danny R — 02 Sep 2011

Director Olivier Assayas's brilliant and extraordinary five and half hour biopic on the infamous 1970s terrorist "Carlos the Jackal," is a gripping cinematic experience, Carlos was born Ilich Ramirez Sanchez in 1949 in Venezuela, character actor Edgar Ramirez delivers a staggeringly complex, star-making performance in four languages as "Carlos," capturing his misplaced charisma that made him a media superstar and the most wanted and feared terrorist in the world, he was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine during Black September, clad in his revolutionary uniform of the day, sunglasses, beret, and black leather jacket, he stormed the 1975 OPEC conference in Vienna in a raid that was commissioned by Saddam Hussein.

He hijacked a jet with his cohorts and kidnapped several oil ministers, murdered two French agents and a alleged informer, the list on his crimes goes on and on, Carlos was also a notorious womanizer who seduced females and discarded them when they were no longer of use to him, Carlos lived with several identities under various pseudonyms until his capture.

Since 1997 Carlos has been in a Parisian prison serving life for murder, this film is an epic achievement thanks to Assayas's expert direction and his incredible eye for period detail, and of course Ramirez's mesmerizing lead performance, a must-see film.

Note: there are two versions of this film, the complete 330-minute cut and the shorter 165- theatrical cut. In English, Spanish and Arabic, with subtitles. Highly Recommended.