The most memorable film at the Istanbul Festivalwas The Consensus, which led the field in terms of its curious formalorganization. An actor is offered the part of the killer in a filmdealing with the assassination of a prominent journalist in the lateseventies, which was a period of intense political terrorism. As hetries to unravel the true facts of the case, the actor imagines himselfbeing involved in the actual murder plot, often appearing in the sameshot as the other killers in flashbacks. Interwoven with these"reconstructions" are interviews with surviving politicians ofthe time, most of whom are evasive and pompous, which caused severallocal journalists to condemn the film for not coming out more directlyagainst the Right, which they believe was responsible. Tercan'snarrative keeps all these strands in clear focus (although one has tofollow the flashbacks very carefully) and works up to a tense climaxwith the assassination reconstruction, backed by a throbbing score byZü;lfü; Livaneli. Undoubtedly influenced by Francesco Rosi, andfascinating.-John Gillett, London Film Festival '92