Enigma

Enigma

Enigma

Enigma

This film is disappointing and far from the truth. The British were not the first to break the code and failed to mention the Polish mathematicians who broke the code in 1932 and handed the British and the French the Enigma machines produced in Poland together with other mechanisms and instructions only because of the war in 1939 and the lack of funding. The fact that they also made up a story that there was a Polish spy working for the Nazis is absolutely disgusting - there were no Polish people at all working in Bletchley Park. It's ok to change the facts slightly but not to the point that it changes the history and makes one nation look bad, let alone appreciated, and makes another take all the credit.

Martin Sheen is the hero and Sam Neill is the villain, the cowboy and the cossack. Who will win this spying game in East Berlin behind the wall of the Cold War, all filmed in Lille and Strasbourg apart from some scenes in Paris? The story is very contrived and improbable, as if the whole idea of the film was to make it as enigmatic and mysterious as possible, as no one could possible get the hang of all these constructed technical details of early computer technique, while at least there is a woman who makes this muddled hide-and-seek story human, by adding some romanticism in spite of all this Cold War dreariness. Sam Neill actually wins the prize as the better actor, and his character is more interesting and human, while Martin Sheen is just efficient. Derek Jacobi plays third fiddle and is lost in the general confusion of occupation of embassies, fires in the cultural centre and total rebellion and uproar in a mental hospital, which is the most impressive scene of the film. Brigitte Fossey is lovely and delicate and does what she has to do, and she loves them both, and both deserve it.

A good cast in a strange little Cold War thriller. Though shot entirely in France, it gives a credibly chilly impression of East Berlin. Makes you want to turn up the heating (wildly extravagant these days, of course). The plot is convincingly cynical, and the love triangle at its heart is persuasive - largely because it sidesteps cliché, especially at the film's ending. Brigitte Fossey and Sam Neill work well together and while Martin Sheen seems less sure, his characteristic bafflement actually suit his character quite well. Worth watching as a period-piece. And as an exercise in stargazing (Jacobi, Frank Finlay, Warren Clarke, Michael Lonsdale). Seemingly based on a 'true story' - Whatever that means...

Former spy Martin Sheen is now broadcasting for the Voice of America. His erstwhile boss offers him a major payday to switch some electronic gizmo that will give the CIA an ear into OGPU headquarters; all he has to do is head to Berlin, meet up with former lover Brigitte Fossey, evade every Stassi agent in the country and Russian spy Sam Neill. It's one of those movies with an old-time serial feel: how's Sheen going to get out of this cliff-hanger? And why are people doing whatever it is they're doing? French locations in mid-winter and drab signs stand in for a depressing East Germany, and Jeannot Szwarc's explication-free direction doesn't pander to the audience, but keeps the movie interesting throughout.

ENIGMA is an under-the-radar Cold War drama of the 1980s, basically unknown to modern audiences. A youthful Martin Sheen is tasked with entering East Germany and stealing secrets from the Russians, but Sam Neill is hot on his tail and has other ideas. This is less a thriller in the BOURNE style and more a slow, deliberately paced spy drama like TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY. The moments of it I enjoyed were chiefly those featuring cast members Sheen, Neill, and an against-type Derek Jacobi as the antagonist. The likes of Michael Lonsdale, Warren Clarke, and Frank Finlay are also welcome by their presence. Where the film falls down is in the very slow pace, which saps life from the picture, and the presence of the obligatory romantic sub-plot which couldn't be less interesting.

In Paris, American-born East German defector and radio talk show host Martin Sheen (as Alexander "Alex" Holbeck) is recruited by the CIA to go to Berlin and steal "The Enigma Machine" which scrambles secret Cold War spy messages. This will help the US thwart the USSR's planned assassination of five defectors to the west. In East Berlin, Mr. Sheen fools the KGB with various disguises. He sprays silver in his hair, but it looks the same. Sheen seeks out former girlfriend Brigitte Fossey (as Karen Reinhardt) and she sets out to seduce their "unsophisticated but shrewd" enemy, Moscow swimmer Sam Neill (as Dimitri Vasilikov). Sheen sometimes appears bored with this confusing adaptation of a good idea. His co-stars make their final confrontation scene work well. ***** Enigma (1/28/83) Jeannot Szwarc ~ Martin Sheen, Brigitte Fossey, Sam Neill, Derek Jacobi

Since this is a true story I watched it through to the end. It is quite a dull, dreary film and most of the actors made no effort to act. Sheen, Neill and Fossey all seemed bored and made no effort to speak in the accents of the people they were portraying. Fossey looked like someone in a semi-coma through most of the film. The editing was awful, at one point Sam Neil's character appeared in three different locations within a few minutes. The bad editing made it hard to follow where you were in the story.