This was a great spy thriller, and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s final film. I didn’t realize until the credits that it’s a John le Carré story—which totally makes sense, considering the tense plot line and its various twists. Taking place in Hamburg, the action is set into motion when Muslim Chechan Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin) sneaks into Germany illegally. Through his Muslim contacts there, he is referred to human rights lawyer Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams), who proceeds to help him gain access to funds secreted away into a Hamburg bank by Issa’s father, a notorious Russian thug. The question is: Is Issa a terrorist, and can he be used somehow to expose a terrorist network? Various shadow-y German and American undercover agencies get involved in the chase, not all of them overly concerned with ‘collateral damage.’ Gunter Bachmann (Hoffman) is the central spook pursuing Issa and trying to hook a much bigger fish in the process. As with most Le Carre tales, infighting among the good guys can wreak more havoc than anything the enemy does.
Should You See It? Yes! It gives you a great glimpse into the world of spycraft.
Viewed at Landmark Plaza Frontenac
