Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueAn out-of-favor British politician is sent to Brussels as the new European Commissioner for Industry. He is made aware of a web of political and industrial corruption through a series of ano... Tout lireAn out-of-favor British politician is sent to Brussels as the new European Commissioner for Industry. He is made aware of a web of political and industrial corruption through a series of anonymous letters. Despite his own history of political expediency, the Commissioner rises to... Tout lireAn out-of-favor British politician is sent to Brussels as the new European Commissioner for Industry. He is made aware of a web of political and industrial corruption through a series of anonymous letters. Despite his own history of political expediency, the Commissioner rises to the moral challenge, and faces off with the evil forces responsible.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Prix
- 3 nominations au total
- Karl Ritter
- (as Alan MacNaughton)
Avis en vedette
( JNW ) John N. Wainwright.
jwainwrightj@freenet.co.uk
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?
But at heart this film's significance lies in its forceful stance against big industry. You'll never question the validity of the WTO protestors again.
The viewer is likely to feel unsatisfied because different elements aren't connected well; for example, the film begins with a very dramatic scene but this turns out not to be the real climax, only one of a series of dramatic events. The nature of the relationships between John Hurt's character and other characters, such as his wife, his lover, the prime minister and the journalist, is not shown in a way that reveals how it is relevant to the plot.
John Hurt is always watchable and it's just a shame that this partly-realized story provides the viewer with only the odd glimpse of what his character could be; a determined, morally decent (but flawed) man prepared to bring the world down around him for the sake of justice.
The film begins with a horrific suicide and then reverts to a heavy scene between the British prime minister and a high-ranking government official, James Morton, who is fired. The reasons are political, but we aren't really told why or what happened. The PM wants to use Morton's abilities, so he sends him to Brussels as Britain's European Commissioner, and he is promised that his role will be in Foreign Affairs. Instead, it's Industry. Morton doesn't want the job as he feels it's a true exile, but he goes. He basically leaves his wife (Alice Krige) behind. She's sick of his philandering and wants a divorce.
In his job as Commissioner, Morton receives information about a huge German chemical company that is supposedly manufacturing nerve and biological weapons, and is about to merge with a British company. Everyone is all for the merger, but Morton delays it. He is given compelling documents from a former worker at the plant (Armin Mueller-Stahl). The investigation leads to some shocking information.
John Hurt is one of the greatest actors to come out of the UK, and he could act the phone book and get an Oscar nomination. I really didn't feel this role was fitting for an actor of his caliber, though he is excellent. Mueller-Stahl is a real standout as well, and Rosana Pastor is beautiful and convincing.
The problem is that we just don't find out enough about the characters and the back story, and in fact, the film ends and we really don't know how things are going to turn out for the most part.
I expect more important things from John Hurt, whose work in The Naked Civil Servant and Elephant Man stand as two of the most brilliant performances of all time.
Le saviez-vous
- Citations
James Morton: You're not by any chance some kind of feminist?
Helena: The worst kind! A Woman!
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Détails
- Date de sortie
- Pays d’origine
- Langue
- Aussi connu sous le nom de
- The Commissioner
- Lieux de tournage
- sociétés de production
- Consultez plus de crédits d'entreprise sur IMDbPro
- Durée1 heure 48 minutes
- Couleur
- Mixage
- Rapport de forme
- 1.85 : 1