THE MOVIE PAGES presents CLIVE OWEN & NAOMI WATTS in THE INTERNATIONAL theinternational.htm

What Do The Critics Say?

"Mercifully free of car chases but packed with other adrenaline injections: including a couple of life-and-death foot races for Clive Owen. The International is a classy, old-school thriller."
Bruce Kirkland JAM! MOVIES
"Boasts great location shots and an incredible gunfight at the Guggenheim Museum, but it's Clive Owen who earmed my most rapt attention here."
Betty Jo Tucker REELTALK MOVIE REVIEWS
"A sleek conspiracy thriller from German director Tom Tykwer."
Ben Mankiewicz AT THE MOVIES
"Taut and amazingly timely, The International is a conspiracy thriller that harkens back to the perilously paranoid '70s."
Tom Long DETROIT NEWS
"Perhaps it's best not to think so much and simply be swept along: by Clive Owen, Naomi Watts and Armin Mueller-Stahl."
Stephen Whitty NEWARK STAR-LEDGER
"The International won't go down as an action thriller for the record books, but it's a pretty good one for right now. First of all, the villain is a bank. How's that for timing?"
Mick LaSalle SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

"The International is a sleek, engaging example of a peculiar form of escapist entertainment, a favorite, in fact: It's a thriller that eases us away from our present worries without fully erasing a resonance with life beyond the multiplex."
Lisa Kennedy DENVER POST
"Smart, tense and effective: an intelligent conspiracy thriller that takes its time setting things up, but delivers one of the most impressive set pieces of the year."
Edward Douglas COMING SOON
"The International is one of the better films of 2009 so far and contains an action scene that is worth the price of admission."
Kevin McCarthy CBS RADIO
"A globe-hopping suspense thriller with bankers as the villains."
Pete Hammond HOLLYWOOD.COM
"OK, it doesn't tell you much about the role of banks in the current economic free-fall. But if you want to know, it's a humdinger of a stimulus package."
Peter Travis ROLLING STONE
"It has some superb action set-pieces and some surprising character depths, and it's possible to lose oneself in the moment and come away entertained."
Jeffrey M Anderson COMBUSTABLE CELLULOID

Synopsis

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: The International Bank of Business and Credit . Uncovering a myriad of reprehensible illegal activities, Salinger and Whitman follow the money from Berlin to Milan to New York to Istanbul. Finding themselves in a high stakes chase across the globe, their relentless tenacity puts their own lives at risk as their targets will stop at nothing, not even murder, to continue financing terror, war and gun-running. Anyone who gets in their way is soon eliminated as Salinger knows all to well. He's finally found someone on the inside who is willing to testify against the IBBC. Or so he thinks. Salinger witnesses the death of the agent who he believes was assassinated. Later he learns that the witness has died in very dubious circumstances.

The Verdict "The role of Louis Salinger fits Clive Owen like a glove. Owen has won over a growing band of fans with solid and, memorable performance right from the start of his acting career when in 1988 he debuted in the road film "Vroom". It led to a career on the small screen until 1991, when he appeared with Alan Rickman in "Close My Eyes". In 1998 he starred as Jack Manfred in the critically acclaimed "Croupier". That was followed by the attention grabbing "Greenfingers", "Gosford Park" and "The Bourne Identity". These appearances opened the floodgates. Owen is teamed with British born actress Naomi Watts, who moved to Australia at the age of fourteen. Watts is reported as saying "I consider myself British" but notes "I consider myself very Australian." Her first major film role came alongside Oscar winner Nicole Kidman in in John Duigan's "Flirting". Watts has appeared in an impressive list of movies since her acclaimed debut in David Lynch's controversial drama "Mulholland Drive", including: "King Kong", "The Assassination of Richard Nixon", "The Ring", "Le Divorce" and "The Painted Veil". It's fair to say that Owen and Watts create the right chemistry in this drama/thriller. The face of Armin Mueller-Stahl is one Australian cinemagoers will find familiar: he played Peter in "Shine" and most recently appeared with Watts and Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises". Ulrich Thomsen ("The World Is Not Enough") gives a very convincing performance as IBBC boss Jonas Skarssen. In our troubled times he escalates the distrust and dislike, most of us have for the banking world. "The International" provides a good mix of intrigue, deception, corruption and conspiracy. It also features a brilliantly staged shootout in New York's Guggenheim Museum. Solid! 4 STARS." The Inside Story

"The International is about two people who attempt to overcome forces much bigger than they are," says producer Charles Roven, who worked with the late Heath Ledger on "The Brothers Grimm". "We’re all pawns in the world of big corporations and our destinies are being tugged and pulled by their plans for us. But the film shows us that no matter how insignificant we may feel, we as individuals can make a difference." In the film, Interpol agent Louis Salinger and Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman are driven by the pursuit of justice to take down the most powerful foe imaginable: an international bank with financial and political tentacles that reach into the world’s houses of government. Though their task seems impossible, they are determined to take down the bank, which has proven it will stop at nothing, even murder, to advance its own interests. "If the story seems ripped from the headlines," says director Tom Tykwer, "it’s because the headlines have shown that the banks do control all aspects of our lives. The mess we’re in now started when the banks took advantage of people and encouraged them to live way beyond their means. The banks’ decisions had far-reaching effects: our houses are at risk, our jobs are at risk, ultimately the entire quality of our lives. Global business has developed into an empire with executives of leading corporation: for whom the public doesn’t vote; exerting an enormous influence over politics, the economy, our everyday lives, everything." And though "The International" is a work of fiction that raises the stakes appropriately for a thriller, Tykwer says that the central issue remains the same. "At the core there are two ordinary human beings: people like you and me; fighting a cold-blooded corporate beast that appears unstoppable. I think anyone can relate to their struggle," the two time Bavarian Film Award winning director ("Die Tödliche Maria" 1995 & "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" 2007) explained. When he first read the script, Tykwer’s interest was piqued by a key scene: the story’s hero, Louis Salinger, encounters the bank’s assassin by chance on a Manhattan street and an unpromising lead turns into a momentous shift in the case. The quiet tension of that scene, as Salinger and his colleagues follow the assassin, builds to a stunning climax at the world famous Guggenheim Museum. "That scene left an indelible impression and struck me as a great movie moment," Tykwer ("Paris, je t'aime") recalls. "As the Guggenheim museum events unfolded immediately thereafter, I began to think this could become an interesting film. The last fourty pages of the script made it for me." "I think Tom is a real visionary," 2005 Golden Globe winner Clive Owen ("Closer") says of his director. "He has a fantastic sense of film style and a humanity that informs all his work. 'Perfume', "Run, Lola, Run"," Heaven", they’re all stylistically very interesting, modernist, and diverse, with strong characters. And, in addition, his sense of compassion and understanding of the human condition is an important dimension to his work. "Tom had a very specific vision for what he wanted," says Roven. "He understands what everybody’s role is and he brings with him a great team that he’s been working with since the beginning of his filmmaking career. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever worked with in terms of not only how he sets up a movie but how he executes it. He gets amazing performances: he’s doesn’t just shoot the script, he enhances it with every scene."

Producer Richard Suckle ("Yours, Mine and Ours") recalls: "He brought a level of excitement to every meeting starting from the first day I met him several years ago. He has such tremendous energy and simply loves making movies. He’s a filmmaker with whom you really want to make the long journey movies require." Though a work of fiction, The International was inspired by the real life drama surrounding the downfall of the Bank of Credit and Commercial International. Founded in Karachi, Pakistan in the 1970s by Agha Hasan Abedi, the international bank quickly turned into the most pervasive money laundering operation in history. In addition to financial services, the bank ran a brisk sideline business in arms trafficking, turnkey mercenary armies, intelligence, and support of terrorism. Legislators in the UK and US finally unearthed these dealings in 1991 as the bank collapsed. Debut Screenwriter Eric Warren Singer, says that the real-life BCCI scandal was "the largest criminal corporate enterprise in the history of the world. The BCCI was a full service bank that could provide its clients with a wide range of services. Whether it was moving your money anywhere in the world without a trace, having someone killed or anything in between, BCCI was the bank you could trust. And they were able to operate with impunity because just like terrorist organizations and organized crime, governments around the world: including our government; also needed and used their services. Although the BCCI was shut down in the 1990's, there are banks that are engaged in the same type of business today: laundering money, promoting and fostering conflict in order to profit from the debt that it creates." Singer notes there's a timely warning that can be taken from the film. "Although this film was rooted in events of the past, it was important to all of us that it be relevant to the present; and unfortunately, I don't think anyone can dispute the striking parallels. "The BCCI was one of the first international banks to aggressively pursue the practice of predatory lending, and now the entire world financial system is experiencing its worst crisis since the Great Depression as a result of predatory lending and the unscrupulous manipulation of debt. The same lending principles used by credit card and mortgage companies to indebt individuals in the first world is utilized to enslave entire countries in the third world." Poetic license allowed the filmmakers some freedom in creating a thriller. "We didn't want to hide the thriller behind a curtain of facts and elements to prove how closely related it is to actual events," Tykwer notes. "We were always aware that we wanted this film to have the engine of a quintessential 1970's thriller. We were trying to strike a balance between a film that was weighty enough to feel like an expose but had the velocity and visceral tension of a classic paranoid thriller." Of course, filming in four countries, across two continents, was irresistible for the filmmaking team. Producer Lloyd Phillips ("The Legend of Zorro", Vertical Limit" & "Twelve Monkeys"), a veteran of film producer says, "Filmmaking, like so many other things, has become more global. Studios are shooting in Russia for Russia, and in China for China, or in India for India. I love making movies in different parts of the world because the crews are getting better and better. Shooting in as many countries as we did on "The International" required careful planning, but the result is a huge amount of gratification."

Tom Tykwer and the producers had Clive Owen ("Gosford Park" & "Inside Man") in mind for the role of Salinger from the very beginning, but it was seeing Owen’s praised performance in "Children of Men" that cemented the idea in the director’s mind. "When I saw "Children of Men", I knew I’d found our leading man," Tykwer recalled. "He was good-looking, but carried a world-weariness. He infused that character with a loneliness and roughness combined with a sensitivity that I also wanted to see in Salinger." Owen met with Tykwer over coffee during the film’s development. Together they shared a similar vision of the character and also found they were compatible colleagues. "Clive is extremely focused but very funny. Our meeting showed me what the production would be like. It was great. With him you can be extremely focused, but never lose the fun and joy of the work: a rare pleasure." "Salinger is a very unconventional lead character," says 2002 Screen Actors Guild Award winner Owen ("Gosford Park"). "He’s not slick; he’s not the cool cop, tracking the bank down. He’s a volatile, passionate, committed, even hot-headed and obsessed Interpol agent, trying to make others see what he sees the bank doing." Equally resolute, but more level in her investigative approach, Eleanor Whitman watches Salinger’s back and keeps him in line when necessary. She leads the investigation and there’s a resilience and power to her character. "She is the balancing second protagonist in the film," says the director. "Although there is friction between Salinger and Whitman, her energy and emotional power calms and steadies him and she gives him more clarity." Whitman is determined to prove that the good guys play by the rules. "She’s not an icy career woman, but a real woman handling a chaotic life of family and career," says 2004 Independent Spirit Award (Special Distinction Award) winner Watts ("21 Grams"). "My character’s in control and has a lot of integrity. She’s operating in a man’s world so she’s on her game." Though she found the role intriguing, Watts was not eager to work so soon after giving birth to her first child, Alexander Pete Shreiber. The director had to use all his powers of persuasion to lure her into accepting the role. "I really had to talk her into it," admits Tykwer. "Not because she didn’t want to do the movie, but because her baby was due just before our shoot. I had to convince her because I thought she was perfect for this character." The chemistry between Owen and Watts was palpable from the beginning. "It wasn’t surprising to me they were so immediately perfect. They’re a very easy and energetic match," says Tykwer. "It was a perfect dream come true: Clive and Naomi, whom I consider two of the most interesting contemporary actors of their generation, working together for the first time in a film and both wanting to be involved in the development of the story and methodology of the characters. I felt quite blessed." Actor Armin Mueller-Stahl ("Shine") shrouds his character Wilhelm Wexler, in mystery. "I think the secret, and one of the most important things in films, is not to open the door too early on a character. A monster is deep inside and you can never tell if he’s a good guy or a bad guy." Three time Robert Award (named after the Danish sculptor Robert Jacobsen) winning Danish actor Ulrich Thomsen was cast as IBBC boss, Jonas Skarssen. "His view is that he’s not creating the system, but the system created him and needs him," Suckle ("Scooby-Doo" I & II) states. "To him, war and money are just business; he believes that if he doesn’t do it, someone else will." For Skarssen, it’s all a game: money creates debt, and debt creates influence. Crew Bytes "THE INTERNATIONAL" was .......
directed by Tom Tykwer ["Epilog", "Run, Lola, Run" and "Heaven"]; screenplay by Eric Warren Singer ["The International"]; set decoration by Simon-Julien Boucherie ["Flightplan"]; costume design by Ngila Dickson ["My Grandpa Is a Vampire", "TLOR: The Return of the King", "The Illusionist" and "Blood Diamond"]; production design by Uli Hanisch ["The Cry of the Butterfly", "Stauffenberg" and "The Treasure of the White Falcons"]; edited by Mathilde Bonnefoy ["Run, Lola, Run", "The Soul Of Man" and "Paris, je t'aime"]; director of photography Frank Griebe ["Because", "The Princess & the Warrior", "Naked" and "Der die Tollkirsche ausgräbt"]. Who's Who?

Clive Owen
Naomi Watts
Armin Mueller-Stahl
Ulrich Thomsen
Brian F O'Byrne
Michel Voletti
Patrick Baladi
Jay Villiers
Fabrice Scott
Haluk Bilginer
Luca Giorgio Barbareschi
Alessandro Fabrizi
Felix Solis
Jack McGee
Nilaja Sun
Steven Randazzo
Tibor Feldman
James Rebhorn
Remy Auberjonois
Ty Jones
Ian Burfield
Axel Milberg
Thomas Morris
Oliver Trautwein
Verena Schonlau
Laurent Spielvogel
Giorgio Lupano
Loris Loddi
Lucian Msamati
Benjamin Wandschneider
Naomi Krauss
Luca Calvani
Gerolamo Fancellu

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Louis Salinger
Eleanor Whitman
Wilhelm Wexler
Jonas Skarssen
The Consultant
Viktor Haas
Martin White
Francis Ehames
Nicholai Yeshinski
Ahmet Sunay
Umberto Calvini
Inspector Alberto Cerutti
Detective Iggy Ornelas
Detective Bernie Ward
Detective Gloria Hubbard
Al Moody
Dr Isaacson
New York D.A.
Sam Purvitz
Eli Cassel
Thomas Schumer
Klaus Diemer
Chief Inspector Reinhard Schmidt
Dietmar Berghoff
I.B.B.C. Secretary
Commissioner Villon
Milan Sniper
Calvini's Chief of Staff
General Charles Motomba
Cassian Skarssen
I.B.B.C. Secretary
Enzo Calvini
Mario Calvini