Funeral in Berlin

This almost shocked me. I have watched this film a number of times over the years, and really considered it a somewhat poorer sequel to the exploits of Harry Palmer as first seen in The Ipcress File. Well, I watched it again one day after when I was well rested (and a little bit bored). The thing is that I was concentrating on every little event or nuance that I was picking up. And lo and behold a whole new level of intrigue emerged. I had only ever previously glossed over the surface, picking up the salient features of the plot. But the deeper layer is sooo much more interesting. You need to take your time and look for it though. Start considering the motivations behind the things people say and do, and whether you are quite sure who was behind them, and who was working for who at the time. There are a lot of unstated goings on under the surface that explain seemingly small details that actually give the game away if you stop to think about them. Of course, if you are super bright and really on the ball, you may pick up this deeper level of intrigue at first viewing. Sadly I did not; - or is that happily, since when I did eventually pick it up it was like watching a whole new (and far more satisfying) movie.