Enigma

A good cast in a strange little Cold War thriller. Though shot entirely in France, it gives a credibly chilly impression of East Berlin. Makes you want to turn up the heating (wildly extravagant these days, of course).

The plot is convincingly cynical, and the love triangle at its heart is persuasive - largely because it sidesteps cliché, especially at the film's ending.

Brigitte Fossey and Sam Neill work well together and while Martin Sheen seems less sure, his characteristic bafflement actually suit his character quite well.

Worth watching as a period-piece. And as an exercise in stargazing (Jacobi, Frank Finlay, Warren Clarke, Michael Lonsdale).

Seemingly based on a 'true story' - Whatever that means...

I must admit, when I first began watching this film I had no clue what was going on. So the beginning was a bit confusing for me. However, that did not diminish my enjoyment of the movie. The characters reveal themselves to be more complex than they may first appear, and that is what makes this a memorable film. At first I heard this was a real "Hollywood" movie. Although it obviously lacks the stereotypical "guns and fists" element, the convincing performances of talented actors such as Martin Sheen and Sam Neill more than make up for it. I'd rather see a film with more substance than shooting any day.

Based on R2 DVD by EuroVideo 98 min

Direction and editing could be better as the story is occasionally confusing for no good reason, lacks tension and the ending is very abrupt. The DVD is in 4:3.

All that aside, both stars [looking very young indeed] turn in respectable performances and the locations look authentic.

6/10 a little generous but worth watching on TV

This intelligent, meticulously plotted, robustly acted cold war thriller by gifted director, Jeannot 'Jaws 2' Szwarc retains much of its weighty, grimly atmospheric iron Curtain gravitas. 'Enigma' is a downbeat, fiendishly gripping 80s espionage yarn, with the disarmingly charismatic, Sam Neill's audacious attempts to out 'cat & mouse' an indefatigable Sheen is dramatically set against a doomy, oppressively glacial East Berlin backdrop, and the distractingly delicious blonde, Karen Reinhardt (Brigitte Fossey) vividly completes this increasingly dangerous, daringly duplicitous ménage à trois! The Teflon tough 'Enigma' provides exciting, nerve-twanging thrills, its grim, suffocatingly paranoid miasma of frost-bitten, pre-perestroika gloom maintained throughout, with Alex's and Karen's burgeoning love affair lending additional pathos to, Szwarc's engrossing, bullet-paced thriller. There is a dynamic, Len Deighton-esque quality to, Alex Holbeck's (Martin Sheen) increasingly desperate attempts to covertly purloin a cumbrous-looking soviet scrambler. In a rousing finale, Alex find's himself only merest heartbeats away from capture, frequently relying on guile, rather than brawn to elude his dogged, equally devious nemesis, Dimitri Vasilikov (Sam Neill).

This was the film that first indicated to me what a great actor Martin Sheen really is. He modestly claims that Charlie is a better actor, Charlie can't hold a candle to him.

I found it suspenseful and thoroughly enjoyed the intertwining of the love story with the main plot (and I usually HATE love stories). There's a great plot twist at the end that struck me as being fully credible, particularly in the early 80's time period, and probably now also.

The final scene had me on the edge of my seat. This film roundly illustrates that treachery is often doled out by those we trust, while declared enemies have more in common than they suspect, and finally, that human compassion can be found where we least expect it.

irenerose