Owing to this movie’s title, one could be forgiven for assuming that this film takes place in some alternate universe where Tom Cruise’s mega-spy Ethan Hunt has a dull CIA desk job. Or for thinking that this film might be a spoof of Cruise’s enormously popular action franchise. Alas, one would be mistaken and, I’m afraid, disappointed. Impossible Mission simply rips the title off from the blockbuster property, even down to the italicized, action-y font of the title card.
“…to locate and kill a mysterious weirdo who is hijacking the international airwaves and preaching some new age-y gobbledygook about feelings.”
That is not to say that this film is a cheap knock-off of Mission: Impossible; it’s an entirely different movie altogether. Professional assassin Rosa (Jimena Gala), a comely femme fatale with a troubled past (is there any other kind?), wants out of the killing-for-hire game. She reluctantly accepts one last hit job from her boss, Henry Crawford (James Giblin), and flies to Barcelona with the assignment to locate and kill a mysterious weirdo who is hijacking the international airwaves and preaching some new age-y gobbledygook about feelings. Of course, since Rosa’s the best of Crawford’s stable of killers, he wants to make damn sure she doesn’t spill any beans or, for that matter, even return from her deadly gig. To that end, Crawford enlists fellow assassin Gregor (Nikola Stojanovic) to tail Rosa and, eventually, eliminate her. The meat of the story follows Rosa as she makes her way around Barcelona, trying to track down this mysterious media mogul, all the while wrestling with her internalized guilt caused by years and years of contract killings.
There are many attributes in Impossible Mission that multihyphenate (writer, director, cinematographer, star) Gilles Gambino gets very right (primarily visual) and some areas in which he could use a bit more practice (primarily structural). Gambino clearly has a visual eye: the film’s style, atmosphere, and visual compositions are stunning, particularly several Barcelona cityscapes. Gambino’s chosen palette is heavy on the color saturation – he loves his deep reds – which goes a long way to fill in his colorful milieu and even more colorful characters, and he makes terrific use of the European locations at his disposal.
"…attempts to address issues of freedom of speech and urban terrorism..."
