It's a Cold War spy movie set in Paris, France, and East Berlin, Germany, in December 1981. It follows an East German dissident living in Paris recruited by the CIA for a mission in East Germany.
Alex Holbeck (Martin Sheen) is a former East German now broadcasting news from a Western perspective into East Germany. CIA agent Bodley (Michael Lonsdale) recruits him to return to East Berlin to steal an updated version of the Enigma machine used to scramble spy messages. Bodley says the CIA needs the scrambler to prevent the assassination of five dissidents on December 25.
Alex takes the assignment and seeks the help of a former girlfriend, Karen Reinhardt (Birgitte Fossey). East German intelligence knows Holbeck is on a mission, but not what he pursues. East German security assigns Kurt Limmer (Derek Jacobi) to find Holbeck, but his clumsy efforts misfire, and the Russians send in their own man, Dimitri Vasilikov (Sam Neill). "Enigma" follows Holbeck's and Reinhardt's efforts to recruit help and mislead Limmer and Vasilikov. We also learn the CIA has its own motives in the whole mission.
"Enigma" is a good definition of a B-movie that abuses the talents of good actors. The script is unbelievably bad at points, wearing down the viewer with cliché after cliché. The plot had potential, but the writing destroys any sense of reality and even makes some of the acting look terrible.
Alex Holbeck (Martin Sheen) is a former East German now broadcasting news from a Western perspective into East Germany. CIA agent Bodley (Michael Lonsdale) recruits him to return to East Berlin to steal an updated version of the Enigma machine used to scramble spy messages. Bodley says the CIA needs the scrambler to prevent the assassination of five dissidents on December 25.
Alex takes the assignment and seeks the help of a former girlfriend, Karen Reinhardt (Birgitte Fossey). East German intelligence knows Holbeck is on a mission, but not what he pursues. East German security assigns Kurt Limmer (Derek Jacobi) to find Holbeck, but his clumsy efforts misfire, and the Russians send in their own man, Dimitri Vasilikov (Sam Neill). "Enigma" follows Holbeck's and Reinhardt's efforts to recruit help and mislead Limmer and Vasilikov. We also learn the CIA has its own motives in the whole mission.
"Enigma" is a good definition of a B-movie that abuses the talents of good actors. The script is unbelievably bad at points, wearing down the viewer with cliché after cliché. The plot had potential, but the writing destroys any sense of reality and even makes some of the acting look terrible.