A Soviet author known only as 'Dante' wants his book to be published in the west; to this end he has asked his friend Katya to deliver his manuscript to publisher Bartholomew 'Barley' Blair. Barley in meant to be attending a book fair in Moscow but he isn't there and Katya passes the manuscript on to his 'friend' Niki Landau. She tells him how important it is that this book is published but rather than passing it to Barley he reads it and hands it to MI6. They contact Barley to discover what he knows about Katya and Dante; he has no knowledge of Katya but had met Dante at a party some time earlier. The manuscript suggests that the Soviet military poses far less of a threat than was previously thought
of course until they learn more about Dante they have no idea whether he is real or not.
Barley is sent back to Russia to learn more about him. Once there he meets Katya and as he learns more details about Dante he develops feelings for Katya. As the operation progresses control is passed over to the CIA and it soon becomes apparent that they are not too pleased with the contents of the manuscript
one would think a less dangerous Soviet Union would be a good thing but if that danger is suddenly seen to be rather low the vast amounts of money being spent on intelligence and military equipment is harder to justify
something those in that world do not want to see.
If you are expecting 'James Bond' style thrills you will be disappointed; there are no exciting stunts, chases or explosions to be seen. In fact there is little real tension as we never really think Barley or Tanya is about to be grabbed by the KGB. That doesn't make the film boring though; the story unfolds in an interesting way. We gradually learn more about Dante while also watching the growing closeness between Barley and Katya. Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer put in fine performances in the lead roles and are supported by an able cast of well-known actors including Roy Scheider, James Fox, Michael Kitchen and J.T. Walsh
as well as a young Martin Clunes in a small but amusing role. It is clear that the makes wanted to take full advantage of being one of the first western films to be made in the Soviet Union; many of the scenes in Moscow and Leningrad looked as though they were picked to showcase some of the most impressive parts of those cities. The ending has a nice little twist that doesn't seem overly forced
we are also treated to a happy ending that is far from guaranteed with films based on the works of John le Carré. Overall a solid, gently told espionage story that will disappoint anybody expecting a thrill-ride.
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