The International (2009)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Tom Tykwer

Writer (WGA):

Eric Singer (written by)

Release Date:

13 February 2009 (USA)

Genre:

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 | Money Laundering | 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 | 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:12 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Relativity Media

Trivia:

An explosive shootout scene takes place inside New York's famous Guggenheim Museum, in which the museum appears to take severe damage. To film the scene, the film's production team used the Guggenheim's original blueprints to build a full-size replica of its interior in an old abandoned locomotive warehouse. Construction of the replica took 4 months.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Whitman and Salinger revisit the assassination crime scene and start to investigate the trajectories of the bullets, the bullet holes seen are in a certain relative position that is distinctly different from that seen in the theoretical playback of what might have actually happened as Salinger espouses his theory minutes later from atop the nearby hotel rooftop.

Quotes:

André Clement: I am more comfortable tense.

Movie Connections:

References Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004)

Soundtrack:

The International End Title

Surprisingly Effective Blockbuster Thriller

The Interpol Agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) and his partner are investigating the International Bank of Business and Credit (IBBC) in a joint operation with the District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) from Manhattan in a two hundred million dollars illegal business of weapons trading. They schedule a meeting with an insider informer from IBBC at the Central Station in Berlin; however his partner is mysteriously killed after the encounter. Salinger finds the identity of the informer when he sees that the Vice President of Acquisitions André Clement (Georges Bigot) had died in a car accident. Salinger and Whitman head to Milan where they meet the politician Umberto Calvini (Luca Giorgio Barbareschi), who is great manufacturer of arms, and he explains that IBBC is interested in buying the missile guiding system that he produces in his factory. When Calvini is murdered by a sniper in a political rally, Salinger and Whitman head to New York following the killer and later to Istanbul, and disclose a scheme of arms supply and destabilization of governments to make their nations slaves of debt. Further, the bank is protected by legal systems and only if Salinger crosses the line he might bring some justice to the corrupt system.

"The International" is a surprisingly effective blockbuster thriller. I had lower expectations with this movie, but I really liked it. The complex story of corruption and greedy has flaws, but holds the attention of the viewer until the last scene. The way Louis Salinger easily travels to many countries is strange, since we simple mortals need documentation, money, reservations, connections in the airports, but his character has no problem even when he is chased by the police. In Guggenheim, the always effective police force of the movies takes a long time to come to the place and arrives only after the shooting. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Trama International" ("International Plot")