Carlos

Carlos

I think I deserve a medal for sitting so long. The film began at 12:15 p.m. and I left the theatre at 6:15 p.m. There were two 15 minute intermissions. In three words I can sum up this extra long film: killing, smoking and sex. I didn’t even close my eyes for a minute. I was riveted to the screen and fully enjoyed this historical drama about the revolutionist known as Carlos. The film is a French production that originally was produced for television and was shown in three parts

You certainly get a bird’s eye view of the world as the master terrorist goes from country to country to do his dirty work. He travels in Germany, England, France, Amsterdam, Yemen, Syria, Hungary, Lebanon and Libya. Libya and Syria were very helpful to him in purchasing arms and giving him sanction.

The film covers 20 years in the life of Carlos formerly known as Ilich. The part is played superbly by Edgar Ramirez. I don’t know how he gained and lost weight for the different scenes.

Carlos was a world revolutionary fighting for the Palestinian cause. He was against all the imperialist countries. He bought arms in one country and then smuggled them into another. He killed his enemy without mercy. In December 1975 he stormed an OPEC conference in Vienna and took all the members as hostages. He sorted out the attending members as to friends, neutral or enemies of his cause. Many people were slaughtered during the event. He demanded and was given a plane to fly to Algeria. He took many of the terrified hostages with him. He wanted to go to Baghdad but the plane was not equipped. I couldn’t help but wonder how they were able to get a pilot and co-pilot to take on the task of flying that plane. The terrorists all had weapons and it was extremely dangerous.

He shot at an EL EL plane on a tarmac with a long armed weapon. At one time he declared,” Weapons are an extension of my body.”

He went into hiding in Yemen. He grew a beard and gained some weight. He was told that he had become a famous star known the around the world.

He negotiates with the KGB and the Stasi in East Germany. He makes deals and meets the top leaders in the countries where he is negotiating.

Always he is seen with a drink of whiskey and a cigarette. Everybody in the cast smoked continuously throughout the film. I felt as if I was physically in danger from the second hand smoke. He always had a different woman at his side. The women seemed to swoon for him. He was an attractive man.

Carlos told one of his women that he knew he would be killed one day. Actually he is in a jail in France for the rest of his life.

He had so many women and he certainly enjoyed being with them. There are two full nude scenes in the picture.

His downfall began as the communist countries began to wane in power. The Stasi was destroyed when the Berlin wall came down. Countries refused to shelter him and he was running out of places to hide. His ex-wife gave information on his whereabouts and he was kidnapped and taken back to France to face charges of murder.

At the end of the film you are told what happened to all the members of his gang. This is a most compelling story. Come prepared to sit for a long time. Bring snacks.