Spartan (2004)
Country: GER/US
Technical: DeLuxe/Super 35 107m
Director: David Mamet
Cast: Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, William H. Macy, Ed O'Neill
Synopsis:
A secret service operative is seen training soldiers to be future personnel, then using two of them to trace the whereabouts of the President-elect's daughter who has been kidnapped by white slavers.
Review:
Mamet's fascination with appearance and reality had to reach the arena of the secret service sooner or later and he no doubt held off only because of the familiarity of that particular brand of duplicity. It's a typically cold and disorienting atmosphere he plunges us into. The Kilmer character relies on the clarity of obeying instructions without question, and we too know nothing of the context of his actions for some time (indeed we know even less than he does). Two thirds of the way through, however, he is forced to question and becomes a rogue agent. The whole narrative is as taut as its author's best work and for once it is reassuring that everyone operating within the intelligence services is seen to be intelligent. A gripping, thrilling ride with an insinuating, canonic score.
Country: GER/US
Technical: DeLuxe/Super 35 107m
Director: David Mamet
Cast: Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, William H. Macy, Ed O'Neill
Synopsis:
A secret service operative is seen training soldiers to be future personnel, then using two of them to trace the whereabouts of the President-elect's daughter who has been kidnapped by white slavers.
Review:
Mamet's fascination with appearance and reality had to reach the arena of the secret service sooner or later and he no doubt held off only because of the familiarity of that particular brand of duplicity. It's a typically cold and disorienting atmosphere he plunges us into. The Kilmer character relies on the clarity of obeying instructions without question, and we too know nothing of the context of his actions for some time (indeed we know even less than he does). Two thirds of the way through, however, he is forced to question and becomes a rogue agent. The whole narrative is as taut as its author's best work and for once it is reassuring that everyone operating within the intelligence services is seen to be intelligent. A gripping, thrilling ride with an insinuating, canonic score.
Country: GER/US
Technical: DeLuxe/Super 35 107m
Director: David Mamet
Cast: Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, William H. Macy, Ed O'Neill
Synopsis:
A secret service operative is seen training soldiers to be future personnel, then using two of them to trace the whereabouts of the President-elect's daughter who has been kidnapped by white slavers.
Review:
Mamet's fascination with appearance and reality had to reach the arena of the secret service sooner or later and he no doubt held off only because of the familiarity of that particular brand of duplicity. It's a typically cold and disorienting atmosphere he plunges us into. The Kilmer character relies on the clarity of obeying instructions without question, and we too know nothing of the context of his actions for some time (indeed we know even less than he does). Two thirds of the way through, however, he is forced to question and becomes a rogue agent. The whole narrative is as taut as its author's best work and for once it is reassuring that everyone operating within the intelligence services is seen to be intelligent. A gripping, thrilling ride with an insinuating, canonic score.