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Plot: After betraying his fellow English criminals, Willie Parker (Terence Stamp) gets a golden retirement in Spain. 10 years later, however, he is kidnapped by a couple of hitmen, who plan to bring him to Paris to confront one of his old partners. But the trip is a long one, and the different personalities of the kidnappers, one tight-liped and professional (John Hurt), the other young and volatile (Tim Roth) make a potentially explosive combination.

Comments: I need to check out more British gangster movies. I didn't like Sexy Beast much, but I recently saw The long good friday and this other one is almost as good as that, even if the ending is weaker. Stamp and Hurt are both terrific, and the idea of these two crossing the entire country with a kidnapped person in their car is intriguing. I guess Tim Roth is great too, but I disliked his character so intensely I couldn't concentrate much on his acting. I guess it's mission acomplished for Roth, then, because his character is supposed to be a jerk.

The film also benefits from a very taut pacing by Stephen Frears and a peculiar use of Spanish locations. Save for Stamp's character, none of the main characters speak Spanish, and I found very funny that they feel somehow alinated by the Spanish landscape and people. Being Spanish myself, they couldn't look feel less threatening to me, but I bought it anyway.

that sounds good.


why is it that almost no one knows ow to do this?

Good question, and also from the 90s onwards people seems to have forgotten how to make movies with a minimal plot. I didn't think much of "Seraphin Falls", but at least they tried to get this right.

I have a suspicion 9 out of 10 filmakers don't even watch their movies or have any sort of empathy for the audience.