Un homme d'action

This is my first time ever to come across a very interesting figure--Lucio Urtubia--and his exploits. His story is fascinating and the movie brings to the screen what is known about the man to a large extent. It's acknowledged however, that what it shown is not true one hundred percent. Still, by and large, it's out of the ordinary.

Someone has remarked that the movie lacks depth considering the rich material that is at the disposal of the makers. Yet, it's good enough considering it's running time.

The central point of Urtubia's story is how he succeeds in challenging the biggest American bank and in outwitting it in an extremely creative way. He didn't give up when an earlier plan fails to take off. What's also significant is his association albeit brief with a legendary anarchist--Quico Sabate. Their association brings out their contrasting anarchist approaches to dealing with the banking establishment. But both agree that what they're doing is not robbing banks but expropriating on behalf of poor people.

All told it's a satisfying viewing experience. Juan Jose Ballesta does a good job portraying Urtubia. Luis Callejo, Miki Esparbe and Liah O'Prey provide able support.

Greed takes as many shapes as Satan supposedly does, and looking at political ideologies through the dollar lens reduces everything to a simple devilish financial scam! When a Spanish entrepreneur is recruited into an anarchist 'organisation', combined with his hatred of banks, he concocts a plan to destabilise the American dollar. Even Che Guevarra said that that was too hard!

As it's all based on a true story type film, the ridiculousness of the escapades feel more real than they should! Clumsy, near-sighted, or just plain incompetent, the government forces trying to catch the criminals are constantly outwitted and ridiculed at every turn. The French setting aside, the comparison to Pink Panther's bumbling detective is undeniable.

The anti-imperial-Americana that Spain's Francoist education imparted on these Spaniards living in France imbues the story with a sense of David vs. Goliath. The one-eyed giant, in this case, is a multinational bank trying to make Traveller's Cheques popular at all costs. By clever cooperation and Robin Hood-ish intentions, the small group of people (whom do not like being told what to do) follow the bricklaying Spaniard's every plan, until the bank in question gets wind of the operation.

The battle of wits is minimal as both parties are treading uncharted waters. One is creating a system to benefit the peak of the pyramid while the other does not want to be a brick in its slanted walls, although both think more about themselves than 'the masses'!

Are we just beasts of burden for those that demand everybody do what they did as men (or women or whatever) of action? It seemed the banks needed to be robbed by the poor, foreign bricklayer to support the poorer workers, and the curious French detective had to succumb to the Bank's influence, as if they all had a part to play to unburden the masses of any heavy lifting, in the thinking department! Anarchy, as depicted in this film, never looked so organised and effective in creating wealth for its leaders! If I wasn't aware of the history, it would seem the criminals in this film had more capitalist ideals than trying to put a wrench in the big cog of American progress.

No pun intended - but I'll add one: you gotta cheque yourself, before you wreck your(home) self ... ah well. I can do this all day ... Captain Greece that is if you even care. But back to the point or rather the movie. Real life stories can be good - but they can also make some viewers roll their eyes ... not in a good way - also if you are thinking of anything other than annoyed, those are your thoughts and your thoughts alone.

Sorry for that, but I am certain some people have a dirty mind - shame on them. Talking of dirty ... what about dirty money? What about banks, who have too much of it? I mean it is mostly the money of workers ... but they play with it ... and they are insured ... so it is ok to .. no, do not even think about it! Especially because you'll get in prison ... which is a possibility for the main characters here ... since they are based on real people, you may already know their story.

Let's say you don't - I didn't ... and the movie was really well thought of ... and edited. Very well acted too ... and the suspense of it ... great too. Will not make my top 20 list - but it was an interesting and entertaining watch ... especially with the real life factor included ... credits reveal more ... well a bit more! It is not a documentary after all ...

The first word to come to mind after finishing the movie is decent. That might not be the desirable outcome of anybody's moviemaking, but we've all seen much worse. The story is loosely based on a real person, anarchist and rebel Lucio Urtubia. We follow back and forth his path for 40 years. Nobody seems to like banks anymore, so in my book if anyone can make fools of bankers, more power to them. Unfortunately, the ultimate price is always paid by people like us, nickeled and dimed to death by them. And when all the dishonesty and greed catches up with them, we save them with generous bailouts. Decent movie, workmanlike, predictable, but not much more.

Despite the interesting premise, the plot fell flat after the intriguing opening sequence. The story starts in 1962, with main character Lucio Urtubia and girlfriend reaching the Paris airport with a bag full of cash. Costumes and set look spot on and the audience is left wondering what will happen next, since the police is in hot pursuit.

There follows the first annoying flashback to 20 years previously, in Spain with teenage Lucio attempting and failing his first bank robbery to help his sick father. Move forward 10 years and Lucio is in Paris, joining his sister and working as a builder. On his construction site, Lucio meets some anarchists who introduce him to the doctrine and Lucio decides to "expropriate" bank money to help comrades in need, with the help of more skilled anarchist robber Quico.

At this stage the timeline starts to get muddles, with Lucio meeting Anne, the love of his life, robbing banks and eventually getting caught and incarcerated, then out again for another round that includes falsifying banknotes and finally printing fake travellers cheques.

The actor playing Lucio looks much older than a twenty-something in the section taking place in 1952 and still much older than girlfriend Anne, even 10 years later. Also, he's not a particularly good actor and seems to be sleepwalking through the movie. Most un-engaging, gets a couple of stars for costumes and sets.