Carlos (2010)

A different way of telling a story

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I really enjoy movies based in the 70's such as Munich. Unfortunately it is not the case for Carlos.The cinematography lacks coverage -- lots of hand held and quick pans..or maybe it's in the editing? Edgar Ramirez needs strong supporting actors to back him up in order for him to shine as a lead man (He is no Benicio Del Toro in Che) He too often over acts quite a bit especially when speaking a foreign language.Here is a perfect example on how music can make or break a scene. On too many occasions the score/song used does not support or enhance the mood of the scene but instead it pulls you out and kills the moment.Good action scenes, gun fights, explosions etc. Unfortunately it is not enough to save this effort.

First off. I had never really heard of this Carlos guy. But I think I have seen quite a few characters loosely based on his persona. So I started to see trailers promising this epic story about the true events of a terrorist legend spanning decades in Cinemascope. And I was thinking I should watch this. This looks promising. I didn't really expect it to be awesome. But it did look interesting.But the film didn't open in theaters here. And while it was waiting for a DVD or release I heard that there's two versions of this. Both a 3 hour compilation and a three-part 5+hr miniseries. Now, I am in a mindset that when there's several versions I want to experience the directors cut first. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's the longer one. Often it is. But there are quite a few cases where Directors have preferred their theatrical cuts and only did longer cuts as Special Editions. Greatest examples here being James Camerons works with Aliens, Terminator 2, and the likes. And here in Sweden too, there's a common practice where the filmmakers have to do longer TV-edits in order to secure extra funding. Most of those times, the Theatrical Cut would be the Directors Cut. Well, in the case of Carlos, it wasn't. The 5hr version is the directors cut. So I tried waiting to see it the way it was intended. It never came. So now. 4 years later. I finally got a copy of the whole thing and over the course of two nights, I plowed through it.Part One, first night:Here you get the origin of this multinational antihero as he's starting out as a veteran of revolutionary wars and fights his way into the business of international terrorism for hire. And for me, this was the best part. It shows his talent for this gig. And also how haphazardly the operations can be slapped together. They say that beggars can't be choosers and sometimes you just don't have enough trustworthy or talented coworkers available, so the bar is lowered somewhat to fill up the roles that the operation needs. Again. This first part showed a lot of promise and almost made you root for this womanizing borderline-alcoholic that has no problems bombing civilians to make a point. And it ended with the crew on a bus going to do their biggest gig yet. Quite a cliffhanger.Part Two and Three, second night: Well, the plan sort of fell apart and Carlos is set on a downward spiral of lesser successes throughout the later parts. And, unfortunately, the quality of the film kind of followed. It became an increasingly tangled mess of a bloating cast and muddy motivations. I have very little recollection of what happened during the latter 2.5 hours. The only part I remember sticking out was where they repeatedly mention the location of Ulm. That made me giggle as I tried to recollect the full name of Johann Gambolputty. Eventually it ended and I was more exhausted than anything.Overall:Though I will say this. The costumes, the setting and make-up where all terrific. The lead did his damnedest and had no reservations on camera. Technically, the camera-work was a bit too close and shaky at times but mostly well done. Also, the sound was convincing and the music fit for the most part. Where the problem lies is in the script. Which needed shedding quite a few plot-threads. And it makes me curious how much of the fluff was kept for the 3hr cut. It'll probably take me quite a while before I watch that one, as I want to rid myself of this one just to make the judgment fairer. In conclusion. The whole piece was too bloated for me. Buffs of terrorism history will probably enjoy it more.

i'm going to be brief since i think the other reviews of "carlos"already posted will give a good idea of the film's brilliance.i wanted to point out the genius use of music in this film-the post-punk songs specifically.as goes carlos down a road of egotism,gluttony and sloth so to does the the soundtrack mirror exactly how post-punk devolved from an idealistic,naive,and yes,somewhat innocent art form into a cold hearted mercenary whose original goals and beliefs had long since washed away into a sewer of profit margins,marketability and celebrity.it's no accident that the film opens with wire and closes with the lightning seeds.with a few changes this screenplay could very easily be re-packaged into the johnny rotten/john lydon story.the story of another man who thought the revolution was completely about himself...this is the best film of the past 5 years IMO.even better than mesrine,che and the baader-meinhof complex-3 other similarly structured historical bio-epics that are great films themselves,but not in "carlos" league.

I caught a glimpse of it on Sundance Channel here in the US and ended up watching the whole piece as a 3-episode series.Thanks to Sundance for showing it un-cut and un-edited, it really shows their respect for the efforts of film makers, and as an audience I really appreciate being able to watch it as the director intended it.Really love the story, you can tell Olivier Assayas did a really thorough job in his research. As many reviews said, it's historical facts+real news footage+some fictional imagination, but all of them combined made a great story.Only one small detail I found amusing: the actual event of the attack on OPEC in Vienna took place in December, but they must have filmed it in the summer because one can tell the city is so GREEN in the background; as someone who has lived in Vienna that was simply impossible in winter. But please don't get me wrong, this small detail does not change the fact that this is one of the best movies I've ever seen.