THE CONQUEST — CANNES 2011

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"The Conquest" is true anomaly in cinema. Director Xavier Durringer's solely-devoted character study of Nicolas Sarkozy, during his rise to the seat of France's President, makes up for what it lacks in narrative structure with flabbergasting set pieces that reveal a wildly ambitious, irrationally irreverent, and appropriately cold blooded political animal.

Denis Podalydès gives a high-wire performance as Nicolas Sarkozy that is mesmerizing to behold. Not only is his body type and stature equal to Sarkozy, but Podalydès enacts every identical gesture and behavioral tic with total empathy.

Designed as a crash course in the landscape of modern French politics, the film builds on dialogue-heavy scenes anchored in their intrinsic theatricality.

Durringer, and co-writer-historian Patrick Rotman, make Sarkozy's dependent-but-tenuous relationship with his work-partner wife Cecilla (Florence Pernel) the narrative hub from which all action follows. Florence Pernel more than exemplifies the de facto protagonist role of the offended wife who loses all emotional connection, if not a last ounce of respect, for the husband she helped guide to his place as the leader of France. Clearly, in the context of the story, Nicolas Sarkozy is the film's counter-intuitive antagonist.

Bernard Le Coq plays a significant role as President Jacques Chirac, who underestimates his calculating rival during every step of his Sarkozy's rise to political power. Also crucial to the film's success is Samuel Labarthe's spot-on portrayal of Dominique de Villepin, Prime Minister of France during the time span covered in the story leading up to Nicolas Sarkozy's acceptance speech in 2007.

While “The Conquest” periodically glosses over the substance of important events it alludes to, it is a fascinating look at how similar the French political system has become to America’s flagrantly corrupt methods of “Democracy.”

If, as the film states, "politics is a stupid job done by intelligent people," then you have to wonder at the intellectual of the corporate heads who call the shots for every political functionary the world over.

Not Rated. 105 mins.

GARBO: THE SPY

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After rattling around film festivals for a couple of years Edmon Roch's wildly entertaining documentary thriller is finally enjoying its overdue theatrical release. It's the kind of juicy documentary where the less you know about it going in, the more you'll enjoy it.

So, if you have any inkling to see a super fun documentary about an ingenious World War II double-agent then stop reading this review now and get thee to the cinema. You will not be disappointed.

Otherwise, here we go. Juan Pujol Garcia is a rare person with so many layers of intellect that he fooled the Germans and the Brits into both hiring him to work as a counterspy for them. It's a good thing Garcia's actual loyalties came down on the side of the Allies. Born in Spain, Garcia spent several years of his youth hiding out during the Spanish Civil War evading Franco's version of fascism. By 1940 the Catalan native made his way to London and offered the MI5 his services in spite of the fact he could barely speak a word of English. Repeatedly rejected, Garcia took his game to the Nazis who hired him to spy for them believing he was working out of Lisbon, when in fact he never left London.

He finally secured a position with MI5 writing disinformation to feed to the Nazis. He was given the codename "Garbo" by the Brits, but went under the codename "Arabel" to the Germans. Garcia created an imaginary team of 27 secret agents with fully fleshed-out identities to support his daily transmissions to the Germans. His prose was so detailed and passionate there was never a doubt of the veracity of the information. When the Allies prepared the build-up toward D-Day, Garcia precisely manipulated a diversionary feint set the Pas de Calais region north of Normandy to distract German military attention away from the point of the actual invasion.

Novelist, historian, and Intelligence expert Nigel West supplies fascinating straight-to-camera details about his arduous efforts to discover Garcia's real identity and to track him down in person. Spanish spy Aline Griffith adds an aspect of glamour during her articulate interview sequences. Roch weaves in movie clips from films like “Mr Moto’s Last Warning,” "The Longest Day," and "Mata Hari" to contextualize the material with humor and cinematic style. Evocative music from Brian Eno and Sparklehorse adds an aural layer of intrigue to the rollicking filmic investigation.

“Garbo: the Spy has a lilting tone of cat-and-mouse in its construction. You just might want to see it twice.

Not Rated. 86 mins.

INTO THE ABYSS

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Werner Herzog and Errol Morris have more than a few things in common. Back in the late '70s when Herzog made a bet with Morris that Morris wouldn't make his first documentary "Gates of Heaven" — about an animal cemetery — at the cost of eating his shoe, Herzog had already explored the genre in-depth as a filmmaker even if American audiences only knew of his narrative work with salty epic narratives such as “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” or “Fitzcarraldo.”

Errol Morris went on to become one of the finest documentarians working in the genre. If Herzog's precision documentary work (see "Lessons of Darkness" or "Little Dieter Needs to Fly") hadn't convinced audiences the adventurous filmmaker was capable of more than directing the volatile Klaus Kinski, his 2005 doc "Grizzly Man" served as a big wake-up call.

With his trademark personality in full voice, the inimitable Herzog delves into a case of triple homicide in Conroe, Texas which put convicted murderer Michael Perry on death row and left his murderous accomplice Jason Burkett with a life sentence.

Herzog is candid about his position. During his interview with Perry eight days before Perry's date with death, Herzog tells the boyish 28-year-old he doesn't have to "like" him, but that he respects the inmate’s right to life as a human being who should not be executed anymore than his victims were. No punches are pulled as Herzog uses archive video police footage of the crime scenes to establish events that took the lives of Sandra Stotler, her 16-year-old son Adam, and his 18-year-old friend Jeremy Richardson as the result of a car robbery.

Herzog conducts frank interviews with family members of the victims that evince the devastating effect of the tragedy. The filmmaker's ability to pose sensitive yet direct questions works like a charm, especially considering that all were conducted as singular events on a first-meeting basis.

After stating his anti-capital-punishment stance early on, Herzog allows the complex story to be told by the people closest to it. There is nothing heavy-handed in his approach. You never even see Herzog onscreen. “Into the Abyss” is a sound piece of editorial journalism, the likes of which is all too rare in our new media age of exploitation reportage.

Not Rated. 106 mins.