The International (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 Warren Singer

Stars:

Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl

1 win & 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:

money laundering | post punk | bank | interpol | district attorney | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes a man can meet his destiny on the road he took to find it.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sequences of violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally scheduled for release in August 2008. After badly-received previews, and re-shoots to turn it into more of an action film, it was released in February 2009, during the worst banking crisis in U.S. history.

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Goofs

The building of Calvini Defense HQ at the Lago Iseo, Italy, is actually the "phaeno", a science museum designed by Zaha Hadid in Wolfsburg, Germany, which is located in the center of the city.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Thomas Schumer: Listen, I'm from the Bronx, so you need to keep it simple. Why is the bank buying all this missile-guidance stuff from Calvini? - I don't get it.

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Crazy Credits

During the credits fade-in on the second and third newspaper printed articles, look above the main story of focus and you will see articles that reference a company by the name of SuckleOil, which is most likely a nod to Producer Richard Suckle.

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Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Miss March/Race to Witch Mountain/Sunshine Cleaning (2009)

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Soundtracks

Strange Brew
Written by Eric Clapton, Gail Collins and Felix Pappalardi
Performed by Cream
Courtesy of Universal International Music B.V.
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

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")

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA Germany UK France

Language:

English Italian French Danish

Release Date:

13 February 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Agente internacional

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,331,739, 15 February 2009

Gross USA:

$25,450,527

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$60,253,843

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