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Carlos, the story behind “The Jackal”

Araceli Calva translated by Cindy Hawes

The film, which tells the story of the man also known as Carlos and The Jackal, was screened at the 8th Morelia International Film Festival, as part of a retrospective of films by French director Olivier Assayas.

In an interview, Ramírez pointed out that in Carlos they tried to “show the human side of a myth that was deeply interesting and complex to us, and tell an interesting story.”

He recalled that Carlos was a very contradictory man. When the majority of the radical left rebelled against symbols of the bourgoisie, he bought clothes in the best stores in London, wore clothes by Pierre Cardin, and liked living in luxury.

“For the standards of the time, it was a tremendous contradiction, but for him there was no conflict. For Carlos, defend the revolution, change the world, fight on the side of the oppressed, and eat in high-class restaurtants were not conflicts. This was very strange to us,” the actor said.

He emphasized that for some people, Ilich Ramírez is “an assassin, a mercenary, a jackal, and for others, he is a freedom fighter, a heroe, a man with great social concerns, who follows his convictions.”

In the film, he said, these contradictions were addressed: “what was hidden between the labels—that of terrorist and freedom fighter, the mysoginist and the playboy, the monster and the sensitive man. We wanted to explore him in a fictionalized way and give him a human face.”

Ramírez pointed out that the film does not take place in Latin America because Carlos went to London to live when he was 17 years old and never returned to Venezuela, his native country.

“When Carlos arrived in Europe, he arrived with an agenda. He arrived as a soldier, which he inherited from his family. His father was a very staunch Marxist-Leninist who wanted his children to fight for the revolution and for this reason he sent them to the empire to learn languages and to attack from the inside,” he said.

Speaking about his role as Carlos, Ramírez explained that he was able to do a great deal of research about the character and he feels priviledged [to have been selected for the part] and to have had the opportunity to work under the direction of a filmmaker like Olivier Assayas, who he described as “prolific, daring, committed, upright and with great sensitivity.”

Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, alias Carlos, was an activist on very diverse fronts. He manipulated and was manipulated, influenced by the historical events of the time, actor as well as victim. He supported the Palestinian cause, had radical left ideas, and was also a mercenary paid by secret service agents of the Middle East.  Currently, he is in jail in France serving a life sentence.

Carlos lasts more than 5 hours and recreates two decades of the man’s life.

A retrospective of films by French filmmaker Olivier Assayas was shown, thanks to the support of the French Embassy. It included the Latin American premiere of his great film Carlos starring Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramírez with a special appearance by Mexican actress Martha Higareda. All three attended the premiere.