An extraordinary three-part epic of the rise and fall of Carlos the Jackal. “Edgar Ramirez inhabits the title role with the arrogant charisma of Brando in his prime. It’s an astonishing film.” — indieWIRE
This enthralling portrait of the terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal lasts for over five hours and doesn't contain a wasted minute.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2010
Carlos 2010
This extraordinary three-film epic, made for French television, was showcased out of competition in Cannes to a storm of acclaim.
“Bravura narrative filmmaking on a hugely ambitious scale, Carlos is a spectacular achievement. Tracing the rise and fall of Ilich Ramirez Sanchez [popularly known as Carlos the Jackal], the Venezuelan terrorist whose pro-Palestinian activities earned him global notoriety in the 70s and 80s, Olivier Assayas’ sprawling yet incisive three-part epic compacts some 30-odd years of history into almost six hours of thrilling, kinetic, psychologically revealing portraiture… Dense in detail, rich in verisimilitude, displaying a focused grip on its material and fully trusting a smart audience to keep up, Carlos is, at 5 ½ hours, a marvel of concision, and for all its nonstop globe-trotting and language-switching, its energy rarely flags.” — Justin Chang, Variety
“Dynamic, convincing and revelatory… In what is certainly his best work, French director Olivier Assayas adopts a fleet, ever-propulsive style that creates an extraordinary you-are-there sense of verisimilitude, while Edgar Ramirez inhabits the title role with the arrogant charisma of Brando in his prime. It’s an astonishing film… Carlos enters deep and dangerous waters as it takes on biography (of a still-living figure), international politics, terrorism, history, religion, sex and much more and handles all the issues with staggering dexterity, intelligence and skill.” — Todd McCarthy, indieWIRE