"The International" - A Thriller Ripped From Today's Headlines

CEBU, Philippines - You give them your money. You trust them. But what if they use your money for something else?

From the producer of "The Dark Knight" comes "The International," a gripping action-thriller about the dark side of financial institutions. In the film, Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) and Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) are driven by the pursuit of justice to take down the most powerful foe imaginable: an international bank with financial and political tentacles that reach into the world's houses of government. Though their task seems impossible, they are determined to take down the bank, which has proven it will stop at nothing, even murder, to advance its own interests.

If the story seems ripped from the headlines, says director Tom Tykwer, it's because the headlines have shown that the banks do control all aspects of our lives. "The mess we're in now started when the banks took advantage of people and encouraged them to live way beyond their means," he says. "The banks' decisions had far-reaching effects – our houses are at risk, our jobs are at risk, ultimately the entire quality of our lives. Global business has developed into an empire with executives of leading corporations – for whom the public doesn't vote – exerting an enormous influence over politics, the economy, our everyday lives, everything."

And though "The International" is a work of fiction that raises the stakes appropriately for a thriller, Tykwer says that the central issue remains the same. "At the core there are two ordinary human beings –like you and me – fighting a cold-blooded corporate beast that appears unstoppable. I think anyone can relate to their struggle," he says.

That interest in exploring the heroism of individuals against overpowering forces and overwhelming odds has become a Tykwer trademark. "Salinger is not only fighting to uncover the bank's crimes, but he's fighting an ideological battle," explains the director. "The executives run the world like a business rather than a place in which humans live and derive meaningful connection. They are pragmatists first and foremost, and Salinger wants nothing to do with their world view." 

"I think Tom is a real visionary," Owen says of the director. "He has a fantastic sense of film style and a humanity that informs all his work. His past films ‘Perfume,’ ‘Run, Lola, Run’ are all stylistically very interesting, modernist, and diverse, with strong characters. But, in addition, his sense of compassion and understanding of the human condition is an important dimension to his work."

Though a work of fiction, "The International" was inspired by the real life drama surrounding the downfall of the Bank of Credit and Commercial International. Founded in Karachi, Pakistan in the 1970s by Agha Hasan Abedi, the international bank quickly turned into the most pervasive money laundering operation in history. In addition to financial services, the bank ran a brisk sideline business in arms trafficking, turnkey mercenary armies, intelligence, and support of terrorism. Legislators in the UK and US finally unearthed these dealings in 1991 as the bank collapsed.

Opening across the Philippines on Feb. 25, "The International" is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.