Black Book (2006) is one of the first films I saw in the theater after moving to Los Angeles, and I remember quite enjoying it, but the intervening years have taken some of the shine off the apple. It’s still a beautifully produced film, and Carice van Houten is still superb in it, but perhaps [...]
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For all the iffy, “talking-point” entries on the Spy 100 list, there are at least as many obscure, unjustly overlooked gems like 5 Fingers (1952). A classy, twisty tale of historical intrigue — evidently based on a true story — this one is clever, smart, and thoroughly satisfying. Set in neutral Turkey during World War [...]
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I’ve long ago dispensed with the notion that the Spy 100 list constitutes the genre’s best films; like most lists, clearly it’s more about generating discussion than gauging absolute quality. Our Man Flint (1966) provides more evidence to back this idea. A colorful Bond spoof, this one is noteworthy – perhaps – as an early [...]
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Although it scores points for ambition and scope, The Company (2007) didn’t really connect with me, a three-part miniseries based on a novel by Robert Littell. This one layers a secret history behind several decades of the Cold War, and while it succeeds occasionally in pieces, as a whole it struck me as a clumsy [...]
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The oldest film on the list, Fritz Lang’s Spies (1928) is a silent film, which adds to the challenge of following its plot contortions. Clearly on the list for historical interest, I found it pretty difficult to enjoy. The story involves a banker named Haghi (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) who secretly runs a spy organization. Haghi wants [...]
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A carefully constructed and beautifully shot adaptation of the classic Graham Greene novel, The Quiet American (2002) sets a dark, compelling love triangle against the backdrop of war-torn Viet Nam in the early 1950s. Michael Caine shines as detached British reporter Thomas Fowler, a cynic more interested in smoking opium and spending time with his [...]
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I saw The Russia House (1990) right when it came out, but I don’t think I was the right age to appreciate it way back then — nor the John LeCarre’ novel it’s based on. I liked it much better this time, and it made me want to re-read the book. This simmering Glasnost Era [...]
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Some spy films offer heightened reality action-adventure, dashing heroes, beautiful femme fatales, and clockwork plots. Army of Shadows (1969) is not even remotely one of those films. This lengthy World War II period piece depicting the brutal, cold reality of life in the French Resistance is slow, dreary, and unnerving. Perhaps moreso than any other [...]
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A convoluted tangle of a film, Syriana (2005) is impeccably crafted, challenging and highly political. It skims across the globe, ricocheting from scene to scene and viewpoint to viewpoint, dramatizing the gnarly intersection of corporate greed, government power, and the intelligence world. The linear but highly complex story begins with a merger between two major [...]
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A technicolor mix of action and intrigue, The Professional (1981) is a twisty French romp flavored with odd spaghetti western atmosphere. Josselin Beaumont (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is an agent of the secret service, sent to Africa to commit a political assassination. Changes in the corridors of French power, however, scuttle the mission while it’s still in [...]
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