This lively political thriller (think THE PARALLAX VIEW meets BLOW UP) was the last work of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh before he was murdered by Muslim extremists. (Ya know, it ain’t paranoia if they’re really after you.) The pic looks a lot like the current crop of Brit/PBS crime shows, with too many plots a’running, bits of nudity, stab-like editing and jangly camera work. Here a photojournalist stumbles upon a political assassination and finds he has surreptitiously documented a hidden agenda behind the killing. Forget right-wing zealots or Arab immigrants, it’s the usual financial manipulation of the mighty industrial war complex taking their toll. Van Gogh loses focus in the third act with too many convenient plot turns and a bumbling crew of bad guys, but the plot is fun to follow and some of the interpersonal dramas play nicely into the suspense elements. Before his tragic death, Van Gogh got some attention as a political provocateur, but not as a filmmaker, judged by this, he should have. (02/12/08)
Note the reversed Euro-position of Month and Day in the original title. Cool marketing challenge! Is that May the Sixth or the Fifth of June?
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