CARLOS

Year: 2010
USA: IFC Films
UK: Optimum Releasing
Cast: Edgar Ramirez, Alexander Scheer, Alejandro Arroyo, Ahmad Kaabour
Director: Olivier Assayas
Countries: France / Germany
Language: French (English subtitles)
USA & UK: 165 mins (movie version)
USA & UK: 334 mins (extended version)
USA Rated: Unclassified
UK Certificate: 15 contains strong language, sex and bloody violence
USA Release Date: 15 October 2010 (Limited Release)
UK Release Date: 22 October 2010
UK DVD Release Date: 1 November 2010


Synopsis

A myth in his own lifetime, Carlos is a central figure in the history of international terrorism in the 1970s and 1980s, from pro-Palestinian activism to the Japanese Red Army. He was at once both a figure of the extreme left and an opportunistic mercenary in the pay of powerful Middle Eastern secret services. He formed his own organization, based it behind the Iron Curtain and was active during the final years of the Cold War.

This film is the story of a revolutionary internationalist, both manipulator and manipulated, carried along by the currents of contemporary history and his own folly. We follow him to the end of his road, relegated to Sudan where the Islamic dictatorship, after having protected him, handed him over to French authorities. A contradictory character, as violent as the times he embodies, Carlos is also an enigma.

The writing and research took Olivier Assayas and Dan Franck around two years. Carlos plays out over some two decades across ten countries, with several dozen characters speaking many different languages. It is a political film, a period film, an action film, an international co-production and a film for television and cinema â€" a project that is exceptional in its scope.

DVD EXTRAS

DVD: Making of featurette. Interview with Edgar Ramirez.
Blu-Ray: Making of featurette. Interview with Edgar Ramirez. Interview with Olivier Assayas.