The International (I) (2009)

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

Director:

Tom Tykwer

Writer:

Eric Singer

Stars:

Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clive Owen	...	Louis Salinger
Naomi Watts	...	Eleanor Whitman
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Wilhelm Wexler
Ulrich Thomsen	...	Jonas Skarssen
Brían F. O'Byrne	...	The Consultant
Michel Voletti	...	Viktor Haas
Patrick Baladi	...	Martin White
Jay Villiers	...	Francis Ehames
Fabrice Scott	...	Nicolai 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

Storyline

In The International, Interpol Agent Louis Salinger and Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman are determined to bring to justice one of the world's most powerful banks. Uncovering illegal activities including money laundering, arms trading, and the destabilization of governments, Salinger and Whitman's investigation takes them from Berlin to Milan to New York and to Istanbul. Finding themselves in a high-stakes chase across the globe, their relentless tenacity puts their own lives at risk as the bank will stop at nothing - even murder - to continue financing terror and war.

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Plot Keywords:

bank | interpol | district attorney | international bank | chase | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sequences of violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures [de] Sony Pictures [jp]

Country:

USA Germany UK

Language:

English Italian French Danish

Release Date:

13 February 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Agente internacional

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£760,382 (UK) (27 February 2009)

Gross:

$25,450,527 (USA) (20 March 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, Atlas Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The radio frequency scanner which Salinger uses to overhear the conversation in the end of the film is an Alinco DJ-X3.

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Goofs

In the final scene, a close-up of Salinger's eyes shows a white rectangular reflector.

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Quotes

Jonas Skarssen: What do you want?
Louis Salinger: I want some fucking justice.

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Crazy Credits

"The fictional exhibition depicted in the main galleries of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum was not curated by nor an actual exhibition of the museum."

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

"The International End Title"
Written by Matthew Bellamy, Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil
Produced by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil

User Reviews

Worth a theater ticket

No spoilers.

I pretty much had zero expectations for this film. I'd seen an ad or two and it looked conventional at best, clumsy at worst. The previews certainly don't do it justice. It starts smart and mean and doesn't let up. Not everyone will enjoy the unrelenting mood, but I found the picture intense and the rest of the audience in the theater seemed to agree. It helps that Clive Owen is believable as the protagonist and is highly watchable. A lesser actor in the role would have made the film much less effective. Armin Mueller-Stahl also adds credibility and depth. Other supporting actors were, for the most part, strong and gritty. There was probably pressure for a female lead, so in Noami Watts's defense, this is probably part of the reason why the character feels so irrelevant.

I'm happy anytime that a slick international thriller has some brains and isn't completely predictable, so I found the picture highly entertaining, if imperfect. It it flawed? Most certainly. But if you walk into the theater without pretensions, you'll probably be as entertained as I was. And I do think a theater visit is warranted, for the photography mentioned by previous reviewers, if not for the Guggenheim scene alone. I think it's dangerous to trump up a scene too much, because it inevitably leads to disappointment. But having no idea about what was coming... suffice to say, I didn't find the directing anything other than thrilling.