Q) Why are you writing a review about a movie that was released way back in 1995?
A) It’s one of my most favourite movies, my lord. I would like everyone who missed this to know what they have missed!
Cast:
Stephen Baldwin .... Michael McManus
Gabriel Byrne .... Dean Keaton
Benicio Del Toro .... Fred Fenster
Kevin Pollak .... Todd Hockney
Kevin Spacey .... Roger ’Verbal’ Kint
The movie starts with Dean Keaton lying on the deck of a ship.A masked figure walks up to him and casually shoots and kills him. Flash forward to the present. Verbal Kint is the only survivor in the bomb blast that rocked that ship. He has been arrested and Dave Kujan, an FBI agent wants to know what happened on that ship.
Kint tells the story of the 5 guys(Mcmanus, Keaton, Fenster, Hockney and himself), how they were all small time crooks, how they met in prison, and how they became friends. They decide to work together and expose all the cops who are in cahoots with the criminals. One fine day, out of the blue, they are paid a visit by a man named Kobayashi who is the lawyer of Kaiser Soze. Soze has files on each of the 5 criminals showing all the crimes they have commited in their lifetime including those in which unknowingly they had stolen from Soze himself.
’’Because you have stolen from Mr.Soze, Mr Fenster. That you did not know you stole from him is the only reason you are still alive, but he feels you owe him.’’
They have no choice.
Kaiser Soze is an enigma of whom stories are told; how he came into power; how he showed his ruthlessness by killing his own family, but no one knows for sure if he even exists today.
’’The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist’’
Soze wants them to perform a heist in the boat where all the czars of the drug-land are going to meet.
They go on the boat.
’’Keaton always said, ’’I don’t believe in God, but I’m afraid of him.’’ Well I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze’’
On the boat they realise that the whole thing is a setup. There are no druglords and in fact Kaiser Soze might himself be on the boat.
’’How do you shoot the devil in the back? What if you miss?’’
What happens next? Without revealing the suspense, I can confidently say that you will have to watch the movie twice to actually comprehend the enormity of the climax.
If movie making is all about story telling, then believe me, as a audience you have been told one of the best stories. If after seeing the movie for the first time, you walk away feeling confused, dont fear! You are not alone!
I have seen this movie umpteen times and it still astonishes me every time I watch it. It has some unforgettable lines and I couldn’t resist including some in the review itself! You must have also noticed that I have used the names of the characters rather than the actors themselves. It’s purely because after you see the movie, you dont remember the actors, you remember the characters! I think that says enough about the acting!
For a movie buff, this is a must-see movie. I can assure you that you will remember Kaiser Soze for the rest of your lives!!
’’And just like that...poof...he’s gone’’