The International (2009/I)

Director:

Tom Tykwer

Writer (WGA):

Eric Singer (written by)

Release Date:

13 February 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

They control your money. They control your government. They control your life. And everybody pays.

Plot:

An Interpol agent attempts to expose a high-profile financial institution's role in an international arms dealing ring.

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Interpol | District Attorney | New York | Istanbul

Cast

Clive Owen	...	Louis Salinger
Naomi Watts	...	Eleanor Whitman
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Wilhelm Wexler
Ulrich Thomsen	...	Jonas Skarssen
Brian F. O'Byrne	...	The Consultant
Michel Voletti	...	Viktor Haas
Patrick Baladi	...	Martin White
Jay Villiers	...	Francis Ehames
Fabrice Scott	...	Nicholai Yeshinski
Haluk Bilginer	...	Ahmet Sunay
Luca Barbareschi	...	Umberto Calvini (as Luca Giorgio Barbareschi)
Alessandro Fabrizi	...	Inspector Alberto Cerutti
Felix Solis	...	Detective Iggy Ornelas
Jack McGee	...	Detective Bernie Ward
Nilaja Sun	...	Detective Gloria Hubbard

MPAA:

Rated R for some sequences of violence and language.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA | Germany | UK

Language:

English | Italian | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44264) | Germany:16 | UK:15 | South Korea:18 | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-15 | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Japan:PG-12 | Portugal:M/12 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | New Zealand:R16 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Singapore:PG (edited version) | India:A (cinema release) | Mexico:B15 | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Australia:M | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

59th Street Bridge, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures

Trivia:

After badly received previews, the film was pushed back from its August 2008 release date to February 2009 to allow re-shoots to turn it into more of an action film - only for the film to be released in the middle of the worst banking crisis in U.S. history.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Whitman is being chewed out by the New York D.A. in his office, you can see a pair of red scissors on the desk. When the shot changes, the red scissors are gone. When the shot changes again, the red scissors are back.

Quotes:

Cassian Skarssen: When there's no way out, you find a deeper way in.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Duplicity/Knowing/I Love You, Man (#1.4)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Wir Setzen Uns Mit Traenen Nieder

International Intrigue via Clive Owen & Company

Clive Owen delivers a nice thrilling performance in an international thriller which reminds an audience of the BOURNE ULTIMATUM films with a story which takes you all over the international map in attempting to solve a crime. Owen and the lovely Naomi Watts make an interesting team of mates to travel to Berlin, et. AL. and while the story is a bit far fetched, in today's world of terrorism and plots to steal, kill and overtake countries and governments, Owen as an international Agent does manage to convince an audience of attempting to "settle justice" in a very "unjust world and political climate".

The locations are magnificent and you feel as if you are on a international travel log of stops in Berlin, Milan, Istanbul, Lyon and of course, New York. But then, this is THE INTERNATIONAL and thus the foreign locations make the story ring true to the chase for justice and to solve an international crime. One can only hope that Clive's Agent will find something of reward in the chase.