The Commissioner (1998)

An out-of-favor British politician is sent to Brussels as the new European Commissioner for Industry. He is made aware of a web of political and industrial corruption through a series of ... See full summary »

Director:

George Sluizer

Writers:

Christina Kallas (screenplay), George Sluizer (screenplay)

Stars:

John Hurt, Rosana Pastor, Alice Krige

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Hurt	...	James Morton
Rosana Pastor	...	Helena Moguentes
Alice Krige	...	Isabelle Morton
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Hans Koenig
Johan Leysen	...	Horst Kramer
Simon Chandler	...	Peter Simpson
David Morrissey	...	Murray Lomax
James Faulkner	...	Gordon Cartwright
Alan MacNaughtan	...	Karl Ritter (as Alan MacNaughton)
Bill Bolender	...	Arthur Groom
Julian Wadham	...	Prime minister
Adrian Brine	...	President of Court
Kevork Malikyan	...	Greek commissioner
John Abbott	...	Commissioner's Laywer
Max Gold	...	Morton Lawyer

Storyline

An out-of-favor British politician is sent to Brussels as the new European Commissioner for Industry. He is made aware of a web of political and industrial corruption through a series of anonymous letters. Despite his own history of political expediency, the Commissioner rises to the moral challenge, and faces off with the evil forces responsible.

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Plot Keywords:

european | chemical weapons | based on novel | independent film | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Quotes

James Morton: You're not by any chance some kind of feminist?
Helena: The worst kind! A Woman!

User Reviews

Yawn

John Hurt is wasted in this German-English-Belgian low-budget, poorly produced drama/thriller. Hurt does his best, and the basic idea from the novel is sound, but this film is a failure in most respects (If you want an example of how this sort of thing MIGHT have been done, chase up the original English TV series of 'Edge of Darkness') For a start the production values are awful. It's sub-TV. In one scene a camera pans to the left, obviously bumps into something, wobbles, and the six producers and co-producers (not to mention editor, director) either didn't notice or didn't care. The sound, in some scenes, is filled with the sort of ambient noise you really don't want: noises which ought not be heard make their way in.

Supporting actors are at best adequate; at worst painful.

In theory it ought to work, given a budget, but it ends up a tiresome shambles. Without Hurt it would be unwatchable. Gods know why maybe the best male actor of the early-mid 80's was reduced to this sort of thing.

Details

Country:

Belgium Germany UK USA France

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 1998 (Germany)

Also Known As:

A főbiztos

Filming Locations:

Belgium

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metropolis Filmproduction, New Era Vision, Saga Film (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1