Beltenebros (1991)

In 1946, Darman (Terence Stamp) followed orders from his Communist Party superiors, and went to Spain to kill someone the party had designated as a traitor, and he hasn't been comfortable with himself ever since. Now, it is 1962, and he receives word that he is wanted to perform a similar service. Obediently, he leaves his cozy, book-lined cottage in Britain and heads to Poland, where he gets his orders in some detail. Then he heads for Madrid, evading the Falangist regime's police forces and contacting the city's underground communists. He continues going through the motions of locating his victim, even though he is still very ambivalent about his assignment. At the end, he gets off the hook because another communist does the job. The complex situation grows more complex, leading to a final shootout. This political thriller is based on a novel by Antonio M. Molina and was quite well received in Spain. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi