"My name is Carlos. You may have heard of me." Carlos
☆☆☆☆☆ Masterpiece
Carlos (2010) is an epic account of the life of Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, the Venezuelan Terrorist, better known as Carlos The Jackal.
Directed by Olivier Assayas.
Starring Edgar Ramirez, Alexander Scheer, Fadi Abi Samra among many others.
The film Carlos started as a 5 1/2 hour, 3 part TV mini-series that was turned into a 2 part cable pay-per-view series, then a one part theatrical movie. Carlos is a masterpiece of directing, story telling and especially acting. I watched the entire uncut 5 1/2 version and completely mesmerized for 5 1/2 hours.
Edgar in the role of a life time worked hard on the minute character details that make his performance astounding, even Epic. As an actor what caught me was Edgar flair with languages, 5 to be exact in this film. I did a little reading up about Edgar and discovered he was fluent in those 5 languages. It really helps in bringing truth to his character. His words come out, Trippingly on the tongue, as Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet. Then there are the constant physical transformations Edgar goes through to portray Carlos from his mid twenties to his mid forties. Again as an actor I was in awe of Edgar's transformations, especially the 35 pounds he gained and lost during the filming. Edgars transformation and performance are on par with Marion Cotillard's work in Olivier Dahan's La Mome - La Vie En Rose (2007).
While watching Carlos I got the sense that director and actor where one, working as a team to bring out the real Carlos. It is a terrifying portrait of a man and his inhumanity towards others who did not share in his beliefs and values. In the scene below watch how Edgar seduces Nora Von Waldsatten with just a look. As an audience member I felt seduced.
Trivia - In The Jason Bourne book series, Carlos the Jackal, is his nemesis.
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