Le commissaire

For me, this is one of those films that you start watching and half an hour later, wonder if you should watch or do something else. But I stuck with and found it "so-so" viewing. John Hurt played his role well as did Mueller-Stahl (he was great in "Shine"). The plot takes a few unexpected twists that I did not foresee. However, what disappointed me was the predictability of some parts of the story (e.g. the fate of some characters), the superficiality of some of the characters' interrelationships, and the generally cheap look and feel of the production. A pet hate was the stereotyped Texan businessman in a Stetson - also poorly acted. The movie lacked a certain flow and left some issues hanging unnecessarily. Anyway, see for yourself.

Minister James Morton is sent to Brussels as the new British European Commissioner retreating from a government scandal. He is disappointed with his new portfolio as Commissioner for industry. That is until Helena Noguentes appears as the new Commissioner for the Environment. Add to this a media manipulation, a potential international disaster, high level corruption and a dash of American cavalier capitalism it makes for good watching.

I hadn't come across this until I saw it on cable - definitely worth a watch. Hurt virtually holds up the rest of the cast throughout although a good performance is put in by David Morrisey. This has been Sluizer's only attempt at making a film in English and is commendable. Moves well back and forth from location in London to Brussels.

Lets face it how many films could they make interesting about the EC?

This film makes a change in that it is about The European Community instead of one particular political party or country. An embittered out-of-favour British politician (played by John Hurt) is banished to Brussels, as Britain's European Commissioner for Industry, which he believes, will be terribly dull. But then after a tip off about criminal activities by an employee of a top European chemical company, who tells the commissioner that they are also manufacturing nerve and biological warfare agents. From there all the intrigue and double crossing of both friends and enemies starts and does not stop even at the end of this political thriller. This is the best part I have seen John Hurt play for a very long time and as the commissioner he is very convincing. The films only problems are it is a bit drawn out and it is one of those films that leaves you guessing at the end as to what really happened. Will there be a sequel to put our minds at rest? My recommendation is well worth watching and out of 10 I would give it 7.

( JNW ) John N. Wainwright.

jwainwrightj@freenet.co.uk

John Hurt is wasted in this German-English-Belgian low-budget, poorly produced drama/thriller. Hurt does his best, and the basic idea from the novel is sound, but this film is a failure in most respects (If you want an example of how this sort of thing MIGHT have been done, chase up the original English TV series of 'Edge of Darkness') For a start the production values are awful. It's sub-TV. In one scene a camera pans to the left, obviously bumps into something, wobbles, and the six producers and co-producers (not to mention editor, director) either didn't notice or didn't care. The sound, in some scenes, is filled with the sort of ambient noise you really don't want: noises which ought not be heard make their way in.

Supporting actors are at best adequate; at worst painful.

In theory it ought to work, given a budget, but it ends up a tiresome shambles. Without Hurt it would be unwatchable. Gods know why maybe the best male actor of the early-mid 80's was reduced to this sort of thing.

I had my finger on the fast-forward button while watching this, as I expected this to be a boring and mediocre political thriller and I'm not that very interested in politics. But what a surprise! It turned out to be a smart and very intelligent movie, with a realistic and intriguing story! Although lots of actions happen, on a very high tempo, the story always remains clear and comprehensible. John Hurt was extremely strong, the photography was nice and the camera-work effective. I also liked the music very much, it certainly contributed tot the tension in the film. I think it's great the way George Sluizer made this movie with possibly not that much money.