Film Review: Carlos (FRA 2010)

Content:  In this podcast, we talk about Olivier Assayas’s French film “Carlos” from 2010. It’s a five-and-a-half-hour epic about the Venezuelan terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez.  We describe Carlos' career, his motivations and his ultimate failure, places the film in the context of other films about terrorism in the 1970s and 1980s and praises Edgar Ramírez's acting performance as well as the detailed portrayal of the period.  The film paints an impartial picture, but leaves many questions about Carlos unanswered.  Plot:  Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, aka Carlos, is a Venezuelan-born Marxist revolutionary who joined the “Palestinian” cause and became the world’s most notorious terrorist. In 1975, he led the attack on the OPEC ministers’ meeting in Vienna, taking them hostage and flying them from country to country. This was one of the most daring terrorist acts in history.  The film traces Carlos’ early days as an apprentice in the revolutionary movement to his eventual downfall, shedding light on why he became a legend.