The Fourth State

rnment, and then he finds himself involved with the equally controversial "Katja" (Kasia Smutniak) who is steering him towards crafting content for his ostensibly rather light and fluffy "society" newspaper that is bound to ruffle some official feathers. His naivete soon lands him in even more trouble when he gets caught up in another explosion that sees him arrested and incarcerated with a menacing bunch of Chechens. Is he ever to jail leave in one piece, or even alive, and might he (and we) ever get some explanations as to just who is pulling the strings and why? This is a perfectly adequately produced drama but innovating isn't a word I'd use to describe the plot. The nasty Russians are portrayed with little subtlety, reinforcing stereotypes galore right until the end, and the unprepossessing Bliebtreu hasn't really any significant screen presence as the sense of peril gently but definitely fizzles out and the story loses a bit of it's more menacing focus. This film rather reflects a directing and writing style that suggests more a familiar affection for the genre in general rather than blazing any new trails, and though it's all watchable enough, I doubt you will ever recall it.