The Hessen Affair
| The Hessen Affair | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Paul Breuls |
| Produced by | Paul Breuls, Catherine Vandeleene |
| Screenplay by | Nicholas Meyer, Ronald Roose |
| Starring |
Billy Zane Lyne Renee Michael Bowen Noah Segan |
| Music by | Stephen Warbeck |
| Cinematography | Kees Van Oostrum |
Production company |
Corsan |
| Distributed by | Anchor Bay Entertainment, Cinematic Vision, Eagle Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 113 min |
| Country | Belgium |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20,000,000 |
The Hessen Affair is a 2009 Belgian thriller movie directed by Paul Breuls and starring Billy Zane, Lyne Renee, Noah Segan, and Michael Bowen.[1][2] The movie was released on DVD as The Hessen Conspiracy.[3]
Plot
Immediately after World War II, two American officers (played by Bill Zane and Lyne Renee) are stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, killing time in the fancy Kronberg castle. They discover there a cache of priceless jewels, formerly owned by the royal family. But when the two lovers try to smuggle the treasure back in the US and sell it, their plans become quickly complicated by military investigators and violent criminals. Now, if they are able to remain faithful to each other, they may become incredibly rich.[4]
Cast
- Billy Zane ... as Jack Durant
- Lyne Renee ... as Lt. Kathleen Nash
- Michael Bowen ... as Ben Cassidy
- Noah Segan ... as Lt. David Pallard
- Rudolph Segers ... as Sgt. Roy Tarlton
Criticism
The Hessen Conspiracy is alright. It's a bit corny, contrived, and tries really hard to be sexy and noir, but by the time the credits roll, there's not a whole lot to take issue with. The story unfolds nicely enough and doles out the plot twists effectively, leading up the Necessary Twist that's not quite neck-snapping, though satisfying. Billy Zane does a good job as the headliner and, frankly, looks like he lost a generous amount of weight. He's not quite back to that-douche-in-Titanic stature, but he's got that spunk back. On the other side is Lyne Renee, a suitable femme fatale, benefiting from a hearty effort by the cinematographer to light her face like she's in a Bogart movie. Unfortunately, that over-eagerness to "noir the movie up" backfires. That lighting gimmick is overused and distractive, the script feeds the characters smart-ass one-liners (because, as everyone knows, in the 1940s people only talked in smart-ass one-liners) and Zane's narration just seems corny. At least he didn't say "dame." These are dopey elements, yet taken in the context of the whole film, non-lethal. For a decent, nicely-staged period suspense film, The Hessen Conspiracy largely delivers.
—Review by DVD Verdict[5]
References
- ↑ "The Hessen Affair (2009)". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
- ↑ "The Hessen Affair". dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
- ↑ "Hessen Conspiracy". amazon.com. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
- ↑ "The Hessen Affair". buffalogalpictures.com. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
- ↑ "The Hessen Affair". dvdverdict.com. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
External links
- The Hessen Affair at the Internet Movie Database
- The Hessen Affair at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Hessen Affair at AllMovie
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