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French director Olivier Assayas gives the career of notorious 1970s terrorist ‘Carlos the Jackal’ the widescreen treatment in this compelling and complex portrait, says David Perilli.

Director Olivier Assayas gives the career of notorious 1970s terrorist ‘Carlos the Jackal’ the widescreen treatment with stunning results. Similar in ambition to other longer biographies like Mesrine, Carlos paints a complex and unflattering portrait of a lethal historical curiosity.

The series, which is also available in an shorter version edited for cinemas, is a fictional account in three parts. The first covers Carlos’s activities in Europe in the early 1970s in support of the Pro-Palestinian struggle.

The second, and the strongest part, grippingly depicts the 1975 attack on an OPEC meeting in Vienna which made Carlos’s name and where he first starts to renege on his revolutionary principles. Part three follows his declining fortunes through the collapse of communism to his capture by the French in 1994.

Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramírez glistens with charisma as the lead whilst gradually revealing the flaws which led to his downfall. Revel in a bold beefy drama unafraid to switch languages and countries, or even to let up the pace.

 

David Perilli on 1st October 2010
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