Tag: "The Truth Needs No Translation"
Matobo, Africa, a fictional country that was probably invented as an equivalent of the real world Zimbabwe. A country ruled with an iron rod by a president who murders his opponents and civilians at will. Villages are devastated with most of the inhabitants ... Read review
Director Sydney Pollack delivers megawatt star power, high gloss, and political passion ... more
toThe Interpreter, his first thriller sinceThe Firm. With Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn delivering smooth, understated performances, the film more closely recalls Pol...
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Director Sydney Pollack delivers megawatt star power, high gloss, and political passion ... more
toThe Interpreter, his first thriller sinceThe Firm. With Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn delivering smooth, understated performances, the film more closely recalls Pol...
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Starring Academy Award winners Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn, and directed by Sydney Pollack ... more
(The Firm), The Interpreter sets the rules for the ultimate action-thriller: delivering edge-of-your-seat suspense with a compelling and exciting plot.After UN i...
Director Sidney Pollack's diverse career sees him returning tofamiliar ground with 'The ... more
Interpreter', Nicole Kidman and Sean Pennstarring in a film riddled with subterfuge, recriminations, anddeadly secrets. Kidman plays Silvia Broome, an interpreter who works at the UNin New York City. One night, while collecting a bag she has leftbehind in the building, Silvia overhears a whispered conversationin which an assassination attempt on redoubtable African leaderZuwanie (Earl Cameron), is planned during his future visit to theUN. Secret service agent Tobin Keller (Penn) is assigned to providesecurity for Zuwanie on the forthcoming trip, and conducts aninvestigation when Silvia explains what she has heard. He quicklydiscovers that Silvia has a lengthy, troubled past as a citizenfrom the same country as Zuwanie, and immediately begins to doubther story... This is the first film to be shot inside the United NationsHeadquarters. Locations include the General Assembly and theSecurity Council, as well as corridors and hallways of the complex.The cast and crew filmed on weekends in order not to disrupt theworking week of the Organization. Special Features: Audio commentary from director Sydney Pollack Deleted scenes Alternative ending Sydney Pollack At Work - From Concept To Cutting Room-director Sydney Pollack explains the challenges of filmingThe Interpreter Interpreting Pan & Scan vs Widescreen -using theinterpreter as an example, director Sydney Pollack explains thedifference between pan & scan and widescreen formats The Ultimate Movie Set - The United Nations -a lookinside the prestigious United Nations building in New York.Features interviews and walking tours conducted by official U.N.personnel A Day In The Life Of Real Interpreters - featurette Extra For Initial Order: Note Book
Director Sidney Pollack's diverse career sees him returning to familiar ground with 'The ... more
Interpreter'. Crafted from the same mould that saw Pollack produce the superlative political thriller 'Three Days Of The Condor' (1975), Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn star in a film riddled with subterfuge, recriminations, and deadly secrets. Kidman plays Silvia Broome, an interpreter who works at the UN in New York City. One night, while collecting a bag she has left behind in the building, Silvia overhears a whispered conversation in which an assassination attempt on a redoubtable African leader, named Zuwanie (Earl Cameron), is planned during his future visit to the UN. Secret service agent Tobin Keller (Penn) is assigned to provide security for Zuwanie on the forthcoming trip, and conducts an investigation when Silvia explains what she has heard. He quickly discovers that Silvia has a lengthy, troubled past as a citizen from the same country as Zuwanie, and immediately doubts her story. A series of frantic, fast-paced set pieces ensue, with Pollack beautifully capturing the architectural wonder of the UN, and staging some breathtaking scenes all over the city. Much has been made of 'The Interpreter's status as the first film to be shot inside the UN, and it's to Pollack's credit that he wasn't overawed by such a prospect. Making full use of the building, the director highlights the hustle and bustle of a typical day at the UN, while also shooting eerily silent late night scenes among the famous halls and corridors. As Pollack piles on the tension, Penn and Kidman deliver exemplary performances alongside a prodigious supporting cast, who do justice to an intelligently written plot designed to keep viewers guessing right up until the final moments of the film.
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: K.C. Bascombe - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Jesse James, Rachel Skarsten, Charles Powell, Linda Purl, Kevin Zegars
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Advantages: Smart, pacy, superb acting Disadvantages: Not a great ending and tension dissapears two thirds of the way through
...invented as an equivalent of the real world Zimbabwe. A country ruled with an iron rod by a president who murders his opponents and civilians at will. Villages are devastated with most of the inhabitants slaughtered or 'missing'.
A reporter, his photographer and a guide turn up for a meeting at an abandoned football stadium. Inside three kids are playing football; they show the two men (the photographer staying outside) a pile of bodies ... ...sure what happened, but fearing the worst.
Cut to the UN building in New York, Silvia Broome is an interpreter working for the UN. Born in Matobo she knows the language of the country, and presumably others to! A security alert leads to an evacuation of the building. An evacuation that leads to Silvia having to return later on to pick up her bags. Entering her booth she hears sounds out on the floor and picks up her headphones. Surprised ... more
Tag: "The Truth Needs No Translation"
Matobo, Africa, a fictional country that was probably invented as an equivalent of the real world Zimbabwe. A country ruled with an iron rod by a president who murders his opponents and civilians at will. Villages are devastated with most of the inhabitants slaughtered or 'missing'.
A reporter, his photographer and a guide turn up for a meeting at an abandoned football stadium. Inside three kids are playing football; they show the two men (the photographer staying outside) a pile of bodies hidden in the stadium. Shots are fired and the photographer runs, scared and not sure what happened, but fearing the worst.
Cut to the UN building in New York, Silvia Broome is an interpreter working for the UN. Born in Matobo she knows the language of the country, and presumably others to! A security alert leads to an evacuation of the building. An evacuation that leads to Silvia having to return later on to pick up her bags. Entering her booth she hears sounds out on the floor and picks up her headphones. Surprised she hears two voices, talking in low conspiratorial whispers and in Matoboan, a language that very few people in America would understand. She hears the two voices talking about their plans to assassinate President Zuwanie of Matobo when he visits the UN next week to try and avoid being pulled up in front of a UN tribunal for crimes committed in his country. Thinking the conspirators have seen her she reports what she heard to the Un security team. After being questioned by them the Unites States Secret Service Dignitary Protection Service are called in, in the form of world weary, single man Tobin Keller (who has just returned to work) and his female partner Dot Woods. After they have questioned Silvia Tobins first thoughts are 'She's lying'. His intuition and experience telling him there is more than meets the eye going on here. As a Dignitary Protection officer his remit is to make sure that nothing happens to Zuwanie while he is on American soil. Little side note here the UN while in New York is, like all embassies, not considered to be US soil. This is shown amusingly when the Secret Service first arrive at the UN and cannot get in!
As the story unfolds the tension and suspense build, the assassins trying to get to Silvia, the secret service trying to work out who is behind it all and to protect Zuwanie. All the while Tobin is trying to uncover whatever it is that Silvia is trying to hide and trying not to fall for her charms!
I am still not entirely convinced about The Interpreter, it has a great plot, doesn't dumb things down too much and does have some moments of real edge of your seat anticipation. Somehow though it didn't quite live up to the expectations it was building up in me. It was a bit like a roller coaster ride that takes you up and up, the excitement building as you near the crest, waiting for the long drop down only to find that when you reach the end of that crescendo all you find have is a flat ride, without the thrilling drop. The Interpreter tries to give you that climax to the building suspense but it fails to really supply it, everything it has built up just dissipating very quickly!
There is nothing fundamentally wrong with The Interpreter and I did enjoy the majority of the film. Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn are very good, even if you do sometimes feel they are coasting a bit or maybe just playing parts they know so well, the strong independent woman and the world-weary man. Maybe though it is just that they are both so accomplished at their chosen careers that it just seems that way, they just effortlessly slip into their roles.
From my own point of view there just wasn't enough concentration on the main plot, too many sub plots just dampen the main one leaving you not really quite sure exactly what is going on. This is difficult because often this is a good idea, having the audience wonder what exactly is going on works very well, but there has to be a pay off at the end of it and, for me, the ending was a bit of a damp squib.
This is the first film to ever be allowed to use the UN building for real, and it does make a big difference. The UN is an odd place, in America but not, and it looks like a building that just has to be visited when in New York. For some reason though the makers even cock up this advantage. After the first time the Secret Service tries to go straight in and are stopped, you may be American Secret Service but this isn't America they are told, every other time there seems to be no problem and they come and go as they please.
It is also interesting to see how the Americans see the UN, especially as both the US and UK governments have decided to go against the UN & international law and invaded Iraq. This film seems to show the UN in a very good light, they are efficient and have the right ideas in mind of how to deal with a viscous dictator. How true what we see is to real UN procedures I don't know but everything looks real!
Overall I think I would recommend this film. It just about makes it to that position due to the fine first half to the film, the good plot and the very good acting. Still don't expect it to be the best film you'll ever see!
Director: Sydney Pollack Story 'with the help of The Interpreter by Suzanne Glass'
Certificate: 12A Running Time: 128 minutes
Nicole Kidman - Silvia Broome Sean Penn - Tobin Keller Catherine Keener - Dot Woods Jesper Christensen - Nils Lud Earl Cameron - President Zuwanie
Advantages: Cracking cast, Brilliant storyline, Great acting. Disadvantages: Slightly predictable at times. Abrupt ending.
The story starts in South Africa, to the sounds of tribal singing, with three men in a car, driving up to an old derelict football stadium…the Black African driver and the white Afrikaans passenger get out but ask the photographer to stay in the car. The two men go into the stadium and are met by 3 young black children - one of whom take them to a dark room which is filled with the stench of the dead bodies lying there. Suddenly there is a shout ... ...by the children. The photographer witnesses this but manages to hide. Now you may be thinking I have given away a lot but this all happens within the first 5 minutes of the film starting and really sets the story of the film. After this scene we are taken to the United Nations where Silvia Broome is working as an interpreter, she overhears a plot to kill the African head of state and when she reports it, soon becomes investigated herself by the secret ...
missy0303 15.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Interpreter (DVD)
Advantages: Excellently made film Disadvantages: Needs your concentration throughout
...It was surprisingly slated by the critics, but The Interpreter is quite a tense and exciting thriller. With Sydney Pollack behind the camera, Anthony Minghella as one of the producers, and the celebrated talents of Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn as our leading lady and man, this has all the makings of a huge hit. Yet it didn't quite make it, and I honestly don't know why.
Sylvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) is an interpreter, working in the UN. When she ... ...political intrigue and corruption.
The film concentrates very much on political unrest in a fictional African nation. This is a feature of a few films I have seen, but the first that has featured the fallout and effects that this has on the rest of the world. As the President of Matobo prepares to speak to the UN, defending himself, others are potentially plotting to kill him. I think that the intrigue is done well enough so that doubt is placed ...
pmcds 16.05.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Interpreter (DVD)
Advantages: Great storyline and plot, thrilling action, great cast, keeps you in your seat Disadvantages: None that I can think of
~ Plot ~ The Interpreter stars Nicole Kidman who plays the UN interpreter Silvia Broome. When Silvia returns to the UN building at night to collect some of her possessions, she accidentally overhears a death threat against an African head of state, in a language only she and a few others can speak. Silvia then also becomes a target and her world is turned upside down. Under the protection of federal agent Tobin Keller (Sean Penn), Silvia's past is ... ...she wishes to forget. And the fact that they believe the death threat is aimed at Edmond Zuwanie (Earl Cameron), the president of Matobo, Silvia's old home town, just seems like too much of a coincidence. Keller needs to decide whether Silvia is telling the truth or if this is all just a big conspiracy and that she is actually a suspect. At the same time, Keller is still trying to come to terms with the recent death of his wife and Silvia becomes ...
frankiefromings13 09.04.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Interpreter (DVD)
Advantages: Tense, beautiful art direction, excellent musical score, Kidman, Penn, Keener Disadvantages: A bit too predictable; the ending lets it down
The Interpreter is a thriller set in the United Nations - well, some in Africa (another fictional country - Matoba - fictional African countries are sure getting popular these days, we recently saw one in Sahara as well!) Interpreter Sylvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) works at the UN, and one night when coming back in to pick up some things she left there due to the building being evacuated for a security alert, she overhears a plot to kill the hated ... ...address to the General Assembly. Taking this information to the security people the next day, she finds herself under the spotlight as special agents Tobin Keller (Sean Penn) and Dot Woods (Catherine Keener) question her story. As the storyline progresses, more and more inconsistencies are found with Broome's testimony and background, but is what she's telling them valid enough to be taken seriously? Keller has to find this out and stay ahead of ...
CaptainDisaster 22.05.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Interpreter (DVD)
Advantages: Believeable performances and claustrophobic direction Disadvantages: Goes out on a whimper
...in a fictional African country, the film cuts to Nicole Kidman's Sylvia Broome working as a translater in the UN in New York. One security alert later, one of the films central characters, the UN building itself, is introduced as a dark and brooding maze of corridors where conspiracy, in the form of an overheard whispered plot to kill, is a tangible menace.
We are then introduced to Sean Penn's Tobin Keller and his tough partner Dot Woods (Catherine ... ...history that we learn as the film progresses.
A lot of the film is about this really, with back stories being filled out as we go along and it is one of the film's stronger points.
When Sylvia reports to her superiors the plot she overheard, Tobin, as a member of the Secret Service Dignitary Protection Squad, is called in to find out the truth about her claims.
So begins a game of cat and mouse, as we try to decide if there is some hidden agenda ...
graememt 08.09.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Interpreter (DVD)
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Advantages: Changed my view, was refreshingly good. Disadvantages: None.
Before chosing to purchase this movie, I decided that I would read up about it. I read all kinds of claims from people that listed errors in the continuation of the film, little irritations that the film itself contained, and balanced it with my own dislike of Nicole Kidman, although some little niggle told me that this was a film worthy of watching.
For a start, it is directed by Sydney Pollack, for whom I have great respect since I loved the way in which he created the film Sliding Doors which was artistically very clever. Then there were the writers Martin Stellman and Brian Ward, who had collaborated on other impressive films, and these factors made the decision for me.
The film has an impressive set, at a UN Conference centre, where interpreters are employed to translate the different languages. I thought Kidman would come ...
Advantages: Good concept Disadvantages: Surprisingly bland direction and performances, doesn't hold together well
When UN interpreter Silvia Broome overhears an assassination plot against a despotic African leader due to address the General Assembly, she realises that she too is in danger. CIA agent Tobin Keller is assigned to protect her but finds it hard to believe her story. What are the odds of her hearing a death threat in a language so few people understand? And what was she doing in the building after hours? But as the president's visit draws nearer, Keller must put aside his suspicions if he is to have a hope of thwarting the assassins.
Sydney Pollack is one of America's most highly regarded directors, having worked with virtually every A-list star of the past thirty years. He's been in the industry for nearly half a century and is well-known for his measured direction and his polished productions. Sadly directing is a young man's game ...
Director Sidney Pollack's diverse career sees him returning to familiar ground with 'The Interpreter'. Crafted from the same mould that saw Pollack produce the superlative political thriller 'Three Days Of The Condor' (1975), Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn star in a film riddled with subterfuge, recriminations, and deadly secrets. Kidman plays Silvia Broome, an interpreter who works at the UN in New York City. One night, while collecting a bag she has left behind in the building, Silvia overhears a whispered conversation in which an assassination attempt on a redoubtable African leader, named Zuwanie (Earl Cameron), is planned during his future visit to the UN. Secret service agent Tobin Keller (Penn) is assigned to provide security for Zuwanie on the forthcoming trip, and conducts an investigation when Silvia explains what she has heard. He quickly discovers that Silvia has a lengthy, troubled past as a citizen from the same country as Zuwanie, and immediately doubts her story. A series of frantic, fast-paced set pieces ensue, with Pollack beautifully capturing the architectural wonder of the UN, and staging some breathtaking scenes all over the city. Much has been made of 'The Interpreter's status as the first film to be shot inside the UN, and it's to Pollack's credit that he wasn't overawed by such a prospect. Making full use of the building, the director highlights the hustle and bustle of a typical day at the UN, while also shooting eerily silent late night scenes among the famous halls and corridors. As Pollack piles on the tension, Penn and Kidman deliver exemplary performances alongside a prodigious supporting cast, who do justice to an intelligently written plot designed to keep viewers guessing right up until the final moments of the film.
Arabic, Bulgarian, Croation, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Icelandic, Slovenian, Swedish
Hearing Impaired Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Alternate Ending, Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentary With Director Sydney Pollack, Sydney Pollack At Work From Concept To Cutting Room, Interpreting Pan And Scan Vs Widescreen, The Ultimate Movie Set The United Nations, A Day In The Life Of Real Interpreters
Aspect Ratio
2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
A great action thriller... if you liked the Bourne movies, you'll love this. (News Of The World, )
The best thriller of the year so far - smart and tense... gripping. (Sunday Mirror, )
Kidman piles on dimensions to her character the more we learn about her spotty political past... (USA Today, )
DVD Description
Director Sidney Pollack's diverse career sees him returning to familiar ground with 'The Interpreter'. Crafted from the same mould that saw Pollack produce the superlative political thriller 'Three Days Of The Condor' (1975), Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn star in a film riddled with subterfuge, recriminations, and deadly secrets. Kidman plays Silvia Broome, an interpreter who works at the UN in New York City. One night, while collecting a bag she has left behind in the building, Silvia overhears a whispered conversation in which an assassination attempt on a redoubtable African leader, named Zuwanie (Earl Cameron), is planned during his future visit to the UN. Secret service agent Tobin Keller (Penn) is assigned to provide security for Zuwanie on the forthcoming trip, and conducts an investigation when Silvia explains what she has heard. He quickly discovers that Silvia has a lengthy, troubled past as a citizen from the same country as Zuwanie, and immediately doubts her story. A series of frantic, fast-paced set pieces ensue, with Pollack beautifully capturing the architectural wonder of the UN, and staging some breathtaking scenes all over the city. Much has been made of 'The Interpreter's status as the first film to be shot inside the UN, and it's to Pollack's credit that he wasn't overawed by such a prospect. Making full use of the building, the director highlights the hustle and bustle of a typical day at the UN, while also shooting eerily silent late night scenes among the famous halls and corridors. As Pollack piles on the tension, Penn and Kidman deliver exemplary performances alongside a prodigious supporting cast, who do justice to an intelligently written plot designed to keep viewers guessing right up until the final moments of the film.
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