The lowdown:  'Death and the Compass' is based on a short story by José Luis Borges, and directed by Alex Cox
(who also wrote the screenplay). It was originally made as a 50-minute film in 1992, as part of the celebrations for
the 500th anniversary of Spain's conquest of the New World. Japanese investors then provided the funding to turn it
into a feature film, and although new scenes were shot, it was not completed until 1996. The film depicts a society
of the future in which lawlessness reigns and the city is governed by a totalitarian regime. Detective Chief Inspector
Erik Lonrot (Peter Boyle) investigates a series of bizarre murders that have occult overtones. Police Commissioner
Treviranus (Miguel Sandoval) suspects that the crimes are the work of a notorious criminal, Red Scharlach. The
film is interspersed with narrative scenes featuring a bitter and disillusioned Treviranus, who resents Lonrot for his
success as a detective and his powers of deduction.

Lonrot is aided in his investigations by a local journalist, Alonso Zunz (Christopher Eccleston), and they eventually
find themselves at the seemingly abandoned villa, Triste-de-Leroi, where Lonrot meets the mysterious Scharlach
(who turns out to be Zunz). Scharlach reveals that he has lured Lonrot to the villa in order to get his revenge for the
death of his brother, whom Lonrot had killed in a raid on a gambling den. Scharlach was also wounded in the raid,
and vows to get his revenge. He had staged the killings because he knew that Lonrot would not be able to resist
investigating the crimes, and used them to lure him into a trap.

The verdict:  ''Death and the Compass' will appeal to fans of Alex Cox's work (he previously directed an Eccleston
film called Revenger's Tragedy), although many people will find the plot of this film confusing and hard to follow. It is
very much in the style of films such as 'Brazil', as well as other Cox productions, so it is not to all tastes. However,
the acting is generally very good, particularly Eccleston (who takes on no less than three roles, and is especially
good as Scharlach), while the late Peter Boyle is great as Lonrot. However, it may be useful to read the original
short story before watching the film, so you have some idea of what is going on.

Video clips:  Zunz and Lonrot     4.8mb         Zunz the journalist     6.9mb             Scharlach unmasked     6.4mb   
     
<< Back to the Christopher Eccleston page