The Card Player (2004)
"Il cartaio" (original title)

A Rome policewoman teams up with a British Interpol agent to find a crafty serial killer whom plays a taunting game of cat-and-mouse with the police by abducting and killing young women and showing it over an Internet web cam.

Director:

Dario Argento

Writers:

Dario Argento (screenplay), Dario Argento (story),

Stars:

Stefania Rocca, Liam Cunningham, Silvio Muccino

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stefania Rocca	...	Anna Mari
Liam Cunningham	...	John Brennan
Silvio Muccino	...	Remo
Adalberto Maria Merli	...	Police Commissioner
Claudio Santamaria	...	Carlo Sturni
Fiore Argento	...	Lucia Marini
Cosimo Fusco	...	Berardelli
Mia Benedetta	...	Francesca
Giovanni Visentin	...	C.I.D. Chief
Claudio Mazzenga	...	Mario
Conchita Puglisi	...	Marta
Micaela Pignatelli	...	Professor Terzi
Luis Molteni	...	Pathologist
Carlo Giuseppe Gabardini	...	Anti-Hacker #1
Alessandro Mistichelli	...	Anti-Hacker #2

Storyline

In Rome, after the abduction of a British tourist, the police inspector Anna Mari is contacted by the criminal, who self-entitles The Card Player, challenging the police department to dispute a video poker with him where the prize would be the life of the victim. The Chief of Police refuses to participate and the victim is tortured and killed in front of an Internet web cam. The British detective John Brennan is assigned to investigate the case and when another woman is kidnapped, they invite the addicted player Remo to play for the police. Anna and John lead the investigation trying to disclose who might be the serial-killer.

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Plot Keywords:

police | serial killer | policewoman | internet | murderer | 

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Taglines:

A serial killer with a vice for Video Poker.

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 January 2004 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Card Player

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

€2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$874,371 (Italy) (2 January 2004)

Gross:

$1,479,042 (Italy) (9 January 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Medusa Produzione, Opera Film Produzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role of the cop was intended for Mathieu Kassovitz but he withdrew when he was offered the chance to direct Gothika. It was eventually given to Liam Cunningham and the name changed from John Russo to John Brennan.

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Connections

Referenced in Do You Like Hitchcock? (2005)

User Reviews

Not bad at all: little gore but plenty of tension

I have the good fortune to be working in Italy now and, as Dario Argento is my favorite filmmaker, I saw 'Il Cartaio' as soon as it came out here. Like 'Nonhosonno' it's a tense, unnerving urban thriller with a number of flaws but enough sublime moments to make it stand out above pretty much everything else playing at the moment. Gorehounds will be disappointed though, as 'Cartaio' eschews the over-the-top bloodshed of almost every previous Argento film. But most giallo buffs should find plenty of nerve-wracking thrills and intriguing plot twists to hold their attention.There are also sympathetic characters and great location-shooting in Rome.

I enjoyed Simonetti's electronic score, although I felt it was slightly overused in the second half of the film. It sets the scene nicely during the opening credits and is used to great effect in the 3rd murder sequence, a truly tense scene which really had my pulse-rate running! On the subject of the murder sequences, they rely on suggestion rather than visceral impact, but are mostly effective for the electrifying and perverse tension they exude. Of the numerous killings, two of the poker-game sequences (the second and the fourth) went on for too long and the victims' shrill screams started to get annoying.The other murders, though, were wonderfully timed and quite shocking, especially since the characters are surprisingly sympathetic and better-developed than in many other Argento films. Argento has never used such a minimalist approach before, and in my opinion it works, because when those creepy camera movements, stylistic flourishes, and visual enigmas do actually occur, they have all the more impact. I'm happy to see that Argento is continuing to mature and metamorphose as a film maker. But I also admit a desire that he'll return to the all-out gory shocks and high-baroque style of his earlier masterpieces. I give 'Il Cartaio' an 8/10, just below 'Nonhosonno'.