Paul Krugman Unwinds with a Picture
Carlos (2010)
directed by Olivier Assayas
rating: 3 out of 5 cravats
watched instantly on Netflix
If Carlos is the punchline, we still have to choose our favorite joke. Would Vince or Billy audition the actress that Ilich Ramírez Sánchez seduces with a hand grenade? What’s the difference between a Mediterranean suntan and a romantic weekend in Paris? How much time can we spend at the firing range with all these awesome guns? Geopolitical crimes are one thing, duplicitous human nature another, but sometimes that acquaintance you can’t avoid who won’t shut up about deficits or Hugo Chavez just wants to watch The Terminator like the rest of us.
I hope so, at least. I’d rather watch Carlos than Summer Hours (the truth is, I wolfed down all five and a half hours of the “miniseries” version in two back-to-back sittings), but fans and critics can agree that in the end, they’re the same. It isn’t self-awareness Assayas lacks, but a sense of humor. The cuckolded German sidekick doesn’t count. Édgar Ramírez, man of a dozen mustaches and the requisite biopic weight swings, seems different that way, but he’ll have to keep the pounds on and team up with Benicio del Toro in my submarine-based buddy movie (Depth Charge Sarge) to prove it.
directed by Olivier Assayas
rating: 3 out of 5 cravats
watched instantly on Netflix
If Carlos is the punchline, we still have to choose our favorite joke. Would Vince or Billy audition the actress that Ilich Ramírez Sánchez seduces with a hand grenade? What’s the difference between a Mediterranean suntan and a romantic weekend in Paris? How much time can we spend at the firing range with all these awesome guns? Geopolitical crimes are one thing, duplicitous human nature another, but sometimes that acquaintance you can’t avoid who won’t shut up about deficits or Hugo Chavez just wants to watch The Terminator like the rest of us.
I hope so, at least. I’d rather watch Carlos than Summer Hours (the truth is, I wolfed down all five and a half hours of the “miniseries” version in two back-to-back sittings), but fans and critics can agree that in the end, they’re the same. It isn’t self-awareness Assayas lacks, but a sense of humor. The cuckolded German sidekick doesn’t count. Édgar Ramírez, man of a dozen mustaches and the requisite biopic weight swings, seems different that way, but he’ll have to keep the pounds on and team up with Benicio del Toro in my submarine-based buddy movie (Depth Charge Sarge) to prove it.
posted by NPK at 5:56 PM
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