I am counting this as a film mostly because it was on every critics best of 2010 list and it's running time of 6 hours as well as it's cursing, violence and nudity. You would not be able to show Carlos on network TV and not even on cable.
The first installment is a origin story for both the terrorist that would later go on to be called Carlos and the situation of South America and the Middle East and Central Europe. Carlos was born into meager beginnings. He was a communist and felt a need to help the underprivileged fight against their oppressors. His dislike for capitalism drove his actions. Working his way up to a middle man in the Middle Eastern terrorist circles he and a few crew members were awarded a job. Raiding the 1975 OPEC meeting. This way an act that had serious ramifications for everyone involved it was a bit of a disaster for Carlos and would be held over his head for the rest of his life.
The raid it's self launches the second portion of the story. This is where Carols separates from other alliances and forms his own organization. A group that would bounce around Europe bombing and murdering all in an attempt to achieve global equivalency.
The third chapter in his story is the inevitable demise of Carlos and his organization. He had burned a lot of bridges in his career and made a lot of enemies. His health began to fail him as his wife was leaving him. The one thing about being on the run is that you always have to run faster than those chasing you. Once your health gives out, it provides those after you a leg up.
I loved this story. I knew very little of Carlos and his actions before this film. I feel like the six hours wasn't even close enough to really delve into the life of such a man. First off, Carlos was a playboy. Even when married he never slowed down with the ladies. A fact that may have weighted heavily on his health in his later years while he was suffering from what seemed to be testicle cancer.
In a scary way my political opinions often times ran close to Carlos's. I wouldn't call myself a communist, but Marxism is a profound philosophy. And I believe heavily in the equality of man for the betterment of society. However Carlos's methods is where we began to differ. Another thing I like about this film is that it is not afraid to show the unglamorous. Not all of the terrorist attacks were successes and the film portrays it that way. Sometimes Carols looks like a king or an unstoppable czar. Other times he is fat and buffoonish. He lets his emotions and ego get in the way of rational thought and he and his organization pays the ultimate price for that.
I'll speak for a moment about the performances. Edgar Ramirez was perfect in the role. If I had seen this in time I would have placed it as the best performance of 2010. The woman who plays his wife is amazing also. There are a lot of really great performances worked in the story as well. Over the course of 6 hours (representing the better part of a lifetime) everyone's characters change and grow so much. It must have been a daunting task to keep everything straight.
This movie reminds me of a lot of other feature films. Of course there is Che from 2009, it has a Scarface like story outline without the ridiculous over-the-top ending, and I could go on and on. That is about all I care to blog about such a sweeping docu-drama. I give Carlos ★★★★.
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