What I Watched -- A Most Wanted Man

J and I went to see A Most Wanted Man last week.  This was another one of those movie adventures wherein I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into, except that this was one of Philip Seymour Hoffman's last movie projects.

Hoffman plays Gunther Bachmann, a semi-sanctioned German official on the trail of terrorists living in the Fatherland.  Specifically, he's on the trail of Issa Karpov, a half-Chechen, half-Russian immigrant.  But he's not the only one after Issa; suits from other government departments have their eyes on him, as does a representative from the American embassy (played by Robin Wright; her character is an international version of Claire Underwood from House of Cards).

What everyone wants to know about Issa is whether he is just in Germany to claim his deceased father's fortune, or whether he is there for more nefarious and destructive purposes.  On Issa's side is Annabel Richter (played by Rachel McAdams), an attorney helping him get settled and stay safe.

The mystery is two-fold: what Issa's real intentions are, and how all these people circling around him come together, or come apart.

Bottom line: I enjoyed the experience of having the story unfold, but I find current politics tiresome. History is more interesting.  (Ironic?) I liked Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy better.