For the remainder of 2017, Scott is on a one man mission to watch every movie on BBC’s list of the Top Films of the 21st Century. Click here to follow along with his journey.
Film: Carlos
Director: Olivier Assayas
Release Year: 2010
Country of Origin: France
Seen Previously: No
Where You Can See It: Netflix (until Feb 15th…hurry!)
Biopics are an interesting animal. I often enjoy them, but there’s something inherently unfulfilling about watching a 120 minute boiled down narrative version of someone’s life. Surely, the complexities surrounding a lifetime of some of the most important people in history cannot be told in such a limited way?
It appears that director Olivier Assayas agrees with me. His biopic of international terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, also known as Carlos the Jackal, sits at a staggering 319 minutes. Carlos follows the story of Sanchez from his first activities in 1970s London as part of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) all the way to his capture and imprisonment in 1994, and everything in between.
Skirting the line between television and film, a line which a mere seven years after the film’s release is all but nonexistent, the film is technically considered a miniseries and is divided into three feature-length parts. While I consumed the film all at once, the three parts serve as rather neat act breaks that carve up the life of the terrorist. The first follows his early efforts and rise through the ranks of the PFLP, as Carlos becomes a sort of “star” in the world of terrorism. The second is almost entirely about Carlos’s most famous action: the 1975 seizing of the OPEC headquarters, kidnapping of all oil ministers from OPEC nations, and subsequent fallout from his botched mission. The third chronicles his narrative fall from grace, as the Cold War, and his international support, vanish almost overnight.
I’d be lying if I said that I was anything more than passingly aware of the life and “accomplishments” of Carlos prior to seeing this film. I’m pretty sure I had heard the name before, and I was vaguely aware of an OPEC attack, I think. But a mere five and a half hours later and I’m now an expert. What’s more, in choosing to craft a lengthy, complete story, Assayas has managed to do something absolutely remarkable. Committing to over five hours of film is daunting, but in this case it is absolutely necessary. It takes that much time to fully dive into Carlos’s world, to see things as he saw them. Assayas drops us into this world with little explanation and forces us to set up camp. As the film drew to its conclusion, I realized that I understood Carlos and all his intricate complexities. Assayas clearly wants to show us who Carlos is, but is uninterested in forming any conclusions about his life. This film is showing us history. Nothing more, nothing less. The judgement is left up to us.
Despite its length, the film mostly moves along at a brisk clip as it winds through Carlos’s life and the political climate of 1970s and 80s Europe and the Middle East. This is mostly a testament to the skilled work of lead actor Edgar Ramirez, who plays Carlos with a fiery intensity of a man who is always just one moment away from going berserk. His commitment to the role is admirable, shrinking and ballooning in weight as Carlos’s consistent hedonism tends to get the better of him.
While the film as a whole is wonderful, the aforementioned OPEC raid that caps off the second act is the clear highpoint. The same cannot be said for the final moment, unfortunately. As Carlos finds himself running out of places to hide, Assayas too seems to run out of steam. It feels weird to criticize a film for finally losing its momentum in hour five, but the end, which should feel like a triumphant moment of justice at last being served, plays out instead like exhausted final gasp of an animal way past its prime. Perhaps this was intentional, a comment on a man who lived to make waves ending his career in low tide; regardless it made for tough watching. Still, I would happily recommend Carlos to those who have not seen it or were turned off by its length. It’s a fascinating journey through a very polarizing time in world history and absolutely one of the best films of this century.
Scott’s Updated List
As we go through each film on the list, I’m going to re-rank them based on my own personal enjoyment.
If you haven’t noticed, the three films that we’ve covered so far were all listed as #100 on BBC’s list. This is because when the votes were all tabulated all three films had received the exact same number of votes. It should come as little surprise, therefore, that ranking them against each other has proven difficult. I think I’m comfortable saying that Carlos is thus far the weakest of the three, though I admit that’s kind of like picking your least favorite flavor of ice cream.
3) Carlos
2) Toni Erdmann
1) Requiem for a Dream
