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Not part of a collection.
First they betrayed him. Then they gambled with his life.
Set in a small politically unstable Latin American country, the story follows the half English and half Latino Dr. Eduardo Plarr, who left his home to find a better life. Along the way he meets an array of people, including British Consul Charley Fortnum, a representative in Latin America who is trying to keep Revolution from occurring. He is also a remorseful alcoholic. Another person the doctor meets is Clara, whom he immediately falls in love with, but there is a problem: Clara is Charley's wife.
CinemaSerf
Dec 7, 2024 · via TMDB
With both Paraguay and Argentina under junta governments, doctor "Eduardo" (Richard Gere) returns to his homeland where he quickly befriends the eponymous gent "Fortnum" (Michael Caine) before making even closer friends with his somewhat open-minded wife "Clara" (Elpidia Carrillo). Ostensibly an upstanding member of the community it soon becomes clear that this physician is conflicted, and that comes to an head when his dipso friend is charged with driving the US Ambassador to visit a waterfall. The rebels get wind of this trip and plan to kidnap the visiting diplomat, but they get the wrong man and aren't impressed with the boozed-up light-weight that find themselves stuck with. Still, they can still use him as leverage to have some of their colleagues released from jail, or can they? Does anyone really care about this man who's frankly become a bit of a nuisance, a liability even? The only chance poor old "Fortnum" might have is if local police chief "Perez" (Bob Hoskins) can find where he is being held before his captors lose patience, or run out of whiskey! Caine is on quite good form here as he takes to the role of the alcoholic convincingly, and though he really only features sparingly his is by far the better effort. Otherwise, there's lots of sex between Gere and Carrillo, but their personas remain largely undercooked by a weak script and a rather limited supporting cast who underplay the freedom-fighting elements of the plot and render them a little better than a sideshow. It's really only a vehicle for Gere, this film, and an unremarkable one at that.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Michael Caine
Charley Fortnum
Richard Gere
Dr. Eduardo Plarr
Bob Hoskins
Colonel Perez
Elpidia Carrillo
Clara
Joaquim de Almeida
Leon
A Martinez
Aquino
Stephanie Cotsirilos
Marta
Domingo Ambriz
Diego
Geoffrey Palmer
British Ambassador
Leonard Maguire
Dr. Humphries
Jorge Russek
Senor Escobar
Josefina Echánove
Señora Sanchez
Phil Meheux
Director of Photography
Nick Dudman
Makeup Artist
John Mackenzie
Director
Stuart Baird
Editor
Stanley Myers
Music
Graham Greene
Novel
Christopher Hampton
Screenplay
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Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
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1978 · 13 wins
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1981 · 11 wins
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