Monday, September 1, 2014

[Movie] A Most Wanted Man

Short: "This money isn't clean.  I don't want it."

Medium: A special intelligence unit watches a 'wanted' chechnyan declared a terrorist by Russians after torture while fending off Americans and the German police who want to snatch him up instead of playing the longer game.

Verbose: This is an american action flick with a European ending.

(Spoilers)

I would give this movie the rating that it has on Rotten Tomatoes (which is high) but include the ending is depressing and typical of a european film.  The first half of the film follows the perspective of a washed up german intelligence agent leading a tiny intelligence unit that keeps an eye on the local islamic population using extra legal informanents.  He is after a possible financier of terrorism that he can turn into an intelligence asset.

The heir to a russian war criminal comes seeking money left to him by his father in a german shadow bank.  To do so, he enlists the help of an attractive human rights lawyer who wants to help him with his legal status.  The german intelligence unit buys time to set up a sting on the Islamic financier, and succeeds but at the last minute the bloodthirsty americans crash in and steal the financier and the innocent heir to the russian war criminal, likely spiriting them to Guantanamo.

But the intelligence official does nothing.  No appeal.  No going to the media, etc.  Nevertheless, the acting on this film is absolutely superb for almost every single performance.

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