A Most Wanted Man

Plot synopsis:
Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), a political refugee from Chechnya who has been tortured by Russian security forces, enters Hamburg, Germany, illegally.
Günther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) leads an unconstitutional, covert government team that seeks to recruit local informants with ties to Islamic terrorist organizations. The disheveled Günther's polar opposite is his efficient right-hand associate, Irna Frey (Nina Hoss). The team learns of Karpov's presence and his suspected links to Chechen terrorists.
Bachmann's team is also tracking the activities of a local, respected, Muslim philanthropist, Dr. Abdullah (Homayoun Ershadi), who the team suspects is funneling a small portion of his legitimate funds to Al Qaeda, though the team is unable to prove this. High ranking German security official Mohr (Rainer Bock) and American diplomatic attaché Sullivan (Robin Wright) both learn of these investigations and take interest.
Bachmann is interested in watching suspects and "turning" informants higher and higher up the chain, while protecting the naive who are caught up in the nefarious affairs of others. Mohr and Sullivan appear single-minded, and interested in merely capturing suspects, regardless of guilt or future usefulness.
Günther has been disgraced in the past for an apparently serious failure, and shows signs of self-neglect, but is a sophisticated operative who understands Islamic terrorism, and distrusts politicians and the Americans.
Karpov contacts an immigration lawyer, Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams), who helps put him in contact with Tommy Brue (Willem Dafoe), a wealthy banker whose father had long ago laundered money for Karpov's murderous father, of the Russian mafia. Karpov is the rightful heir to a multimillion-dollar account long held by this bank, but Karpov identifies with his maternal Chechen, Muslim heritage and decides he no longer wants his father's dirty money.
Bachmann's team is able to turn Brue and Richter to their cause, using threats and seduction. Richter convinces Karpov to donate the funds to Abdullah's organization, in the hope that Abdullah will reroute some of the funds to a shipping company acting as a front for al-Qaeda.
Bachmann plans to use this proof of guilt to turn Abdullah as well, in order to ensnare those higher up in the terrorist organization. The plan is approved by the interior minister, along with the American who has become an apparent ally of Bachmann. Bachmann secures asylum in Germany for the innocent Karpov.
Abdullah does indeed route funds to the shipping company, but as Bachmann is about to try to make Abdullah into an informant, without disrupting his life or family, Bachmann is ambushed by forces reporting to Mohr and Sullivan, who whisk away Abdullah and Karpov.
Bachmann screams in frustrated, powerless anger, as Frey, Richter, and Brue look on in shock, and Bachmann drives off, defeated.

Tags: mystery

Review:
Starring an impeccable cast that includes the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe, and Robin Wright, the film is based on the novel by John le Carré, and is a tension-driven and smartly paced thriller ride that makes a mark as one of the year's best rides.A movie that is more in the vein of an extended episode of "Homeland" than a full-out feature (which is not exactly an insult), is tightly wound, fish hooking the audience with its clever storytelling abilities.
While the tween world waits on the arrival of the final two installments to The Hunger Games, this film felt more of his goodbye to the film community that has appreciated him for over two decades.One of the pleasant surprises of the film is the beautiful and talented Rachel McAdams, which immediately makes you think, "where has she been?"While she has been making her rounds in independent films like Passion, About Time, and To the Wonder, her role as "Annabel" shows a deeper talent that is aching to be realized by the right director.
Basically, that's all you need to know about this movie.Philip Seymour Hoffman is Günther Bachmann, a self-described spy.
The late Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays a spy who operates from a smaller, independent bureau that's significantly less forceful and antagonizing than the more powerful ones surrounding this prey, but still has its wide-open eyes fixed on Issa and the exact reason behind his illegal emigration to Hamburg, Germany as a Muslim.
It's also important to note that the film is an adaptation of the novel (the same title) written by John le Carré who has also authored gripping narratives like The Constant Gardner and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (both went on to become motion pictures as well, the former succeeding and the latter failing in my eyes).
The more you've read and seen these, the more you are prepared for this latest.Mr. le Carre' actually was part of MI5 and MI6 (British Intelligence) and uses his experience even so many years ago to provide the type of post 9/11 anti-terrorism spy thriller that doesn't focus on explosions and gun play, but rather the subtleties of communication when very smart people go up against other very smart people who may or may not share their goals.
A Most Wanted Man is a thoroughly engaging movie which sadly includes Phillip Seymour Hoffman's final performance.
As much as I respect and at times love director Anton Corbijn's and author John Le Carré's emphasis on realism, this movie is bogged down by a lack of focus on one story-defining goal, which is rather realistic but makes for a difficult watch.Before anyone gets mad: I am well aware that this is Philip-Seymour Hoffman's last completed film - which was actually the reason for me to go see it.
Meaning, by the standards of most other actors he is GREAT, but by PSH-standards its a pretty run-of-the- mill role that does not call for a great performance and Hoffman plays it like that: A neat little movie experience in Germany that came along and that he probably did not take too seriously, obviously not suspecting that it would be his final starring role.
Because it is something that Bachmann would have had to stress and he is not the kind of character who goes on tantrums over things, so it is realistic but makes the storyline seem a little crooked.Add to that that around the middle the team decides for a course of action that seems drastic at first but then ends up slowing the entire movie down a bit.
. The Chechen young called Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin) is helped by a lawyer (Rachel McAdams) , being pursued by German secret services , Günther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) , Irna Frey ,(Nina Hoss) , Maximilian (Daniel Brühl) and American agents (Robin Wright) .Intrigue , suspense and extraordinary acting by an excellent cast .
Exceptional main cast gives good acting as Philip Seymour Hoffman as Günther , Rachel McAdams ad a kind advocate in law and Grigoriy Dobrygin as a half-Chechen, half-Russian, brutally tortured immigrant turns up in Hamburg's Islamic community .
Very good support cast such as Robin Wright as Martha Sullivan , Nina Hoss as Irna Frey, Daniel Brühl as Maximilian and Willem Dafoe's cool displaying a brief performance as an astute banker .The film packs adequate , evocative cinematography by Benoît Delhomme and atmospheric musical score by Herbert Grönemeyer who also appears in a secondary role .
It's just a bureaucratic turf war that turns out badly (maybe) because apparently there is no higher authority in German intelligence to resolve things, other than this sloppy, chain smoking, drunk.These narrative problems appear to originate in the book, if Amazon reviews are any guide, but are compounded by Corbijn's direction, which, just as in the tedious "The American", combines brilliant visual with lifeless, stereotyped characterization.The acting is fine and while the camera frame is Hoffman's oyster, playing a sloppy, chain smoking, drunk is not exactly a challenge, nor, sadly, a stretch..
If you like long periods of watching Philip Seymour Hoffman driving in his car, or standing around smoking, then this is your kind of film.
John le Carré's brilliant novel A MOST WANTED MAN has been transformed into a screenplay by Andrew Bovell and Stephen Cornwell and as directed by Anton Corbijn the very complex story works well - primarily because of the performances of a near perfect cast.
The theme is in keeping with John le Carré's loathing of the Cold War spying crimes and this particular story, though difficult to follow at times (a factor that helps the innate confusion of the spying and counterspying - a process examined by the film) it is a piercingly indictment of the machinations of the spying and terrorist techniques of all countries.When Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), a half-Chechen, half-Russian, brutally tortured immigrant turns up in Hamburg's Islamic community, laying claim to his father's ill gotten fortune, both German - Günther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a worn-out, beat-up, used-up operative and his aides Irna Frey (Nina Hoss) and Maximillian (Daniel Brühl) - and US security agencies - Martha Sullivan (Robin Wright) take a close interest.
A MOST WANTED MAN explores the dirty side of intelligence work complicated by counterspying and is a contemporary, cerebral tale of intrigue, love, rivalry, and politics that prickles with tension right through to its last desperately surprising scene.Philip Seymour Hoffman is brilliant in this downbeat, distrusting, disheveled, difficult role and is well supported by a fine cast, including Willem Dafoe, the underused Mehdi Dehbi and Neil Malik Abdullah.
In fact, when we went to watch this movie half the theater fell asleep about halfway through the film.2) Language - Putting aside the how strange it is for a film taking place in Germany having all main characters (supposedly Germans) speaking English, in such a culture-dependent plot you'd expect much more attention being given to language barriers, but somehow everyone spoke fluent English with barely an accent (main character's supposedly German accent did not resemble anything like any German accent I've ever heard), fresh immigrants from eastern European or Arabic countries communicated in perfect English.
In a parallel story line, we get to know Gunther Bachmann (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman), who heads an anti-terror unit in the German security forces.
Bottom line: "A Most Wanted Man" is a satisfactory spy-thriller with several stellar acting performances, in particular Philip Deymour Hoffman and Nina Hoss.
The Plot.When a half-Chechen, half-Russian, brutally tortured immigrant turns up in Hamburg's Islamic community, laying claim to his father's ill gotten fortune, both German and US security agencies take a close interest.As the clock ticks down and the stakes rise, the race is on to establish this most wanted man's true identity.Oppressed victim or destruction-bent extremist?
Based on John le Carré's novel, A MOST WANTED MAN is a contemporary, cerebral tale of intrigue, love, rivalry, and politics that prickles with tension right through to its last heart-stopping sceneREALLY?I found this to be perhaps the WORST movie I have seen in 30 years.It's sleep-producing slow.Plodding with no point.And by the second reel, you will be bored to sleep.Pass it by.It sucks.Oh, and the Americans who put on foreign accents are horrible -- including Hoffman who should have never made this film.
We have notables: Willem Dafoe as Tommy Brue - a banker, Robin Wright as Martha Sullivan - a top CIA agent, and Rachael McAdams as Annabel - the lawyer for Issa, Abdullah (Homayoun Ershadi) – a philanthropist, and of course, Philip Seymour Hoffman who is at the very top of his game in here.
A Most Wanted Man sees le Carre moving into the War on Terror and the adaptation serves as Phillip Seymour Hoffman's leading role swansong.Günther Bachmann (Hoffman) is a world weary man leading a small counter-terrorism team in Hamburg after an operation went wrong in the Middle East.
Thought-out the film, there are contentious power plays between the different political sides within the German intelligence apparatus and Bachmann with the CIA's leader in Germany, Martha (Robin Wright).Hoffman gave a brilliant performance as we would expect from a man of his talents.
Hoffman deserves a posthumous Oscar nomination.Director Anton Corbijn follows the success of other le Carre adaptations, focusing on a realistic spy world and A Most Wanted Man moves his work to the War on Terror.
Too bad the film does not work, it could have been so much better.See it if you are a Hoffman fan, but if you want to see a haunting and exciting spy movie, select another.(Sorry about my English).
Günther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a hard drinking German security agent spying on Hamburg's Muslim community and philanthropist Abdullah.
This is very slow paced thriller based on the novel of the same name by John le Carré.The story seems interesting at first but in the end, the way I understood it, it was about 2 rival agencies that wanted to make an arrest and their "right" to make what is called an Extraordinary rendition or irregular rendition i.e. a U.S. government sponsored abducting of a person.So, if you look at it as a statement against governments which act without respect for human rights...well...here you go.If you are looking for an interest espionage thriller though, maybe it's better to look elsewhere.
It maybe truthful to the book (which is based on a true story) but as far as entertainment goes you will probably be bored.Philip Seymour Hoffman was a great actor but here is mediocre (I even preferred him as a bad guy in Mission Impossible).
A Most Wanted Man is certainly not the best novel by John le Carré, the writer whose inspiration was the culmination of the Cold War, from which emerged his most important works, spy thrillers generally without murders and chase, especially without "bondian" superhuman skills and the spectacular "gadgets", imbued with moral dilemmas.
But then what else would one expect from the pen of John le Carré?In its clichéd way, the film is a good example of the genre, building up suspense gradually until the dénouement when Gunther (Philip Seymour Hoffman) realizes that all his plans have gone awry.
It occupies the same brown-drenched bureaucratic landscape as an earlier John Le Carre adaptation, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. But while Tomas Alfredson's film was all about its dreary '70s setting, A Most Wanted Man brings the dreariness into the realm of post-9/11 (or 11/09, to give it a region-appropriate designation).The plot is typically detailed and dense.
Gunther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his espionage team, via an idealistic lawyer (Rachel McAdams), arrange for Karpov to donate the inheritance to a high-profile Muslim philanthropist, in order to entrap the latter as he siphons the funds into a terrorist organisation.
Robin Wright revels in a snaky supporting role, representing the brutal pragmatism of the U.S., and Rachel McAdams makes the most of a gruelling role as a woman trying to do good in a world that rewards evil equally often.Corbijn's film doesn't give away the magician's tricks – we are usually one step behind Gunther and his crew, watching as their plans unfold and succeed or fail before our eyes.
Anton Corbijn's "A Most Wanted Man" (based on John le Carre's novel) is the last leading role in Philip Seymour Hoffman's great career and it's a good performance for him to end on.
Determined never to let the same mistakes happen again, veteran operator Gunter Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) now leads a close-knit and secretive anti-terror unit in the city.With the arrival of an oppressed Chechen Muslim, Issa Karpov, the attentions of both German and American security agencies are quickly attracted.
However, it is the brilliant performance given by Philip Seymour Hoffman that separates A Most Wanted Man from similarly-based films and TV dramas such as the Bourne Trilogy or 24.
Bachmann has depth and we believe in him as a dogged and weather-beaten investigator, which is testament to Hoffman's pedigree as a superb character actor.Save for the performance of the lead then, A Most Wanted Man is rarely brilliant, but is always engaging.
It takes it's time to be involved in this story, and because it's very plausible, it's not over twisted.Overall, "A Most Wanted Man" is a very enjoyable and plausible thriller drama about spy work.
No disrespect to Le Carre but the story is engaging and that's about all that can be said for it.Film as a medium however is much more than a simple plot arc, that is its wonder, its majesty.While McAdams does an excellent job with a character that is somewhat outside her normal comfort zone (and remains a stunning woman at 35) this movie is, was, and will always be about the performance of PSH.This astonishing actor once again achieves the very height of his craft by dominating an entire movie, regardless of the part he is playing.Easy to say, not so easy to do.PSH can be larger than life.
Better than Average Spy Flick - A Most Wanted Man. Philip Seymour Hoffman gives a convincing performance as a German counter-espionage agent in Hamburg Germany who is tracking down a network of terrorists operating out of that city.
Though the plot falls flat, A Most Wanted Man is saved by great performances, worth the watch for Hoffman alone.A man illegally immigrates to Hamburg, where he gets caught in the war on terror.
Philip Seymour Hoffman heads an incredibly talented cast-his performance alone is worth watching the film.
Intelligence officers must decipher whether ex-prisoner Issa Karpov is a threat of terrorism when Karpov flees Chechnya and illegally immigrates to Hamburg.Based on the work of John le Carré, A Most Wanted Man is a thrilling espionage film unlike any other.
Philip Seymour Hoffman leads the cast as Gunther Bachmann, a veteran German spy who runs a small outfit that uses informants as a way to catch bigger fish.
The cast is rounded out by Willem Dafoe, Rachel McAdams and Robin Wright, who all give incredible performances alongside Hoffman, in one of his last film roles.
Helping to hide the foreigner, Annabel is also targeted for arrest, while Günther's activities trigger interest from the German police and the American government, embodied by C.I.A. Agent Sullivan (Robin Wright)."A Most Wanted Man" is at times a little hard to follow while being too convoluted for its own good, and the film suffers from a slow start and a pace that is a little slow at times.
Based on the novel of the same name by John le Carré, 'A Most Wanted Man' is A Worthy Espionage-Thriller, that engages & thrills its viewer due to its sharp execution & competent performances, particularly by the Late/Great Phillip Seymour Hoffman.'A Most Wanted Man' Synopsis: A Chechen Muslim illegally immigrates to Hamburg, where he gets caught in the international war on terror.At a crisp 121-minutes, 'A Most Wanted Man' delivers a story of honesty & crime.
In Anton Corbijn's (The American, Control) espionage thriller A Most Wanted Man, Gunter Bachman, played by a German accented Philip Seymour Hoffman in his final role, is the tough-minded, hard-drinking head of a clandestine anti-terrorist operation working to find sources that will point them to higher-level terrorists in the Islamic community.Based on the novel by John le Carré with a screenplay by Australian Andrew Bovell, the film is a restrained, thought-provoking character study with strategy and mind games replacing multiple deaths and car chases.
A Most Wanted Man: A Top Secret Film ReviewThe first thing I want to say is that cinema lost a great actor in Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
"A Most Wanted Man" concerns a group of anti-terrorism agents in Hamburg, Germany, the head man being Gunther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman).
Saying this, I have to admit that the pace in A Most Wanted Man was often slow even for me, but fortunately it involved many pleasant performances, particularly Philip Seymour Hoffman as Günther Bachmann (the most solid and most on screen), Rachel McAdams as Annabel Richter, Willem Dafoe as Tommy Brue, and Robin Wright as Martha Sullivan.
Being a huge fan of Philip Seymour-Hoffman and having liked Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy so much, I was almost sure this was going to be a brilliant movie.
Dangerous yes, but not glamorous.A Most Wanted Man was Philip Seymour Hoffman's last movie.
Anton Corbijn's A Most Wanted Man is a pure John Le Carre spy thriller, but it's profoundly propelled by the posthumous performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Based on the popular 2008 John le Carre novel of the same name, A Most Wanted Man is a subtle, carefully spun espionage thriller that features Philip Seymour Hoffman's final leading role before his untimely death last February.
Being one of the last performances of Philip Seymour Hoffman, A Most Wanted Man came with high expectations.