Themes: Terrorism, Political Unrest, Totalitarian States
Main Cast: Javier Bardem, Juan Diego Botto, Laura Morante, Elvira Mínguez, Alexandra Lencastre
Release Year: 2002
Country: ES/US
Run Time: 133 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Actor John Malkovich made his directorial debut with this tense political thriller, set in an unnamed Latin American nation and based on a novel by Nicholas Shakespeare. Agustin Rejas (Javier Bardem) is a former lawyer who became a police detective as a more direct way of dealing with crime and justice. Rejas has been assigned to investigate a group of terrorists who are determined to up-end the current government through any means necessary, from revolting pranks (such as leaving dead animals, painted with revolutionary rhetoric, around the capitol building) to bombings and assassinations. Rejas knows little about the terrorists, and no one on the force is certain of the identity or whereabouts of the group's leader, who calls himself President Ezequiel. As Rejas learns more about Ezequiel and his group, they begin stepping up their actions, making his investigation all the more urgent. Meanwhile, Rejas is a man whose daughter is taking dance lessons from Yolanda (Laura Morante); as Rejas and Yolanda get to know one another, a romance begins to grow between them, but in time, Rejas begins to suspect that the woman he loves is working with the terrorists he's been trying to ferret out. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
John Malkovich's debut as a feature-film director is a combination of political thriller, police procedural, and love story. Slow and methodical, the film fares better at developing mood (with considerable help from cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine, who seems fond of dim lighting) than with building suspense or political commentary. Indeed, the film's terrorist organization remains an enigma even though the screenplay, which was adapted by Nicholas Shakespeare from his novel, was inspired by the real-life search for Abimael Guzman, the founder of the "Shining Path" terrorist group. The plot is rather vague at times and the characters remain somewhat distant and inaccessible. The major exception is Javier Bardem as Rejas. He delivers an excellent restrained performance in which the film's story line unfolds subtlety on his face. Unfortunately, he does not have a great deal of romantic chemistry with Laura Morante, although their mutual attraction seems relatively plausible given the contrast between Rejas and his wife, a poorly developed character whose relationship with him remains somewhat inexplicable. The film is sometimes interesting and often evocative, but it doesn't quite hold up as an emotionally engaging story. ~ Todd Kristel, All Movie Guide
Detective Agustín Rejas (Bardem) is tracking the self-styled President Ezequiel (Abel Folk), a Marxist-influenced guerrilla waging a brutal terrorist campaign against the corrupt -yet democratic - government of an unnamed Latin American country. Contrasting with the violence and death in his professional life, Rejas begins to fall for Yolanda (Laura Morante) - his daughter's beautiful ballet teacher. But she may not be all she appears, and his growing attraction to her brings him in direct conflict with his prey.
Historical Basis
The story is inspired by the Maoist insurgency in Peru known as the Shining Path. Its leader Abimael Guzmán, who was known by the nom de guerrePresident Gonzalo, was captured in an apartment above a ballet studio in the capital Lima in 1992. The ballet teacher Yolanda was based on Maritza Garrido Lecca, the woman in whose apartment Guzmán was found. Bardem's character was inspired by Benedicto Jimenez and General Antonio Ketin Vidal, the leading figures responsible for Guzmán's capture.[1]
Notes
A lamppost sign reads: "When I hear the word culture, I reach for my pistol." This is a quotation usually misattributed to Nazi leader Hermann Göring.
The seized videotape is labelled "Estado de sitio". This happens to be the Spanish title of the film State of Siege by Costa Gavras. There turns out to be an execution on the tape. Later, portions of the Costa Gavras film itself are also seen on the tape.
