Alejandro González Iñárritu is not a household name, but he made a name for himself directing "Amores Perros" in 2001. That year and the following, BMW sponsored a series of 8 films all with the common theme that a BMW was prominently featured in it....and, of all things, Clive Owen starred in each one. For this odd experiment, some of the top directors in the world were somehow obtained--including John Woo, Ang Lee and even the great veteran director John Frankenheimer. Iñárritu was given a prime chance to 'mix it up with the big boys' by making this film and he did admirably. While I have only seen three of the films so far, I was surprised that "Powder Keg" is so far the best of them--even better than Frankenheimer's short (and I am a huge fan of his work). I think the reason is that unlike the other two films, the emphasis is less on spectacular chases and stunts (though there are some) but on telling the entire story--including some very emotionally draining aspects to this film that lift it to greatness. This is clearly NOT just a glorified ad for BMW but a wonderful little film you really should see. Just be sure to have a Kleenex nearby.
Review of Powder Keg
