I watched this 5-hour TV mini-series in a single day, in a single sitting, finally crawling into bed at 3am in spite of having to work the next day. The film traces the meteoric rise to international infamy of a figure who, in spite of being very-much real (he still languishes in a French jail, and has viewed the said film), has almost attained the status of myth in the contemporary consciousness. However, if there is one thing the series does extremely well, it is to collapse and invert the romance attached to the man; showing him as, yes, highly intelligent and daring, but also conceited, myopic, and despicably cruel.
And yet this film also explores the geo-political causes and contexts that produced the grotesque figure of 'Carlos' in the first place, which is perhaps most perceptively achieved by revealing to the viewer the grotesque power games that were being played out by the major cold war states, in which made places like Palestine and Beirut are turned into de facto battlegrounds.
But, coming back to the film itself, which stands out in its own right as a superb piece of biopic and historical art, 'Carlos' features some of the most exceptional acting I've seen from Edgar Ramirez. In numerous scenes he codeswitches from English to Spanish, then German, then Arabic, and then French, with seamless effort. This was the role of a lifetime, but I'm sure that, given the strength of his performance, Ramirez will be highly-sought talent in future productions of similar quality.
And yet this film also explores the geo-political causes and contexts that produced the grotesque figure of 'Carlos' in the first place, which is perhaps most perceptively achieved by revealing to the viewer the grotesque power games that were being played out by the major cold war states, in which made places like Palestine and Beirut are turned into de facto battlegrounds.
But, coming back to the film itself, which stands out in its own right as a superb piece of biopic and historical art, 'Carlos' features some of the most exceptional acting I've seen from Edgar Ramirez. In numerous scenes he codeswitches from English to Spanish, then German, then Arabic, and then French, with seamless effort. This was the role of a lifetime, but I'm sure that, given the strength of his performance, Ramirez will be highly-sought talent in future productions of similar quality.