This film completely worked for me - maybe I saw it in the perfect mood or something but it just clicked. Bogdanovich films are about rhythm and this one nails it. It helps he had Paul Theroux's source material, he was keen to explore brothels in the far east, he had a surrogate in Ben Gazzara, Howard Sackler worked on the script, the budget was low enough for him to have freedom (even though it was a tricky shoot). It's one of the best New World Pictures.
Gazzara gives a subtle, laid back performance as Jack a man who seems to have all the answers but often gets in over his head. He works for some locals and dreams of setting up his own brothel; he succeeds only to fall victim to the local triads (a terrifying sequence... Bogdanovich doesn't do nearly enough suspense and violence he has a gift for it).
It is the story of white men in Singapore but he's constantly bested by the locals and the British don't come off too well - boozy whoremongerers singing songs. The female characters don't get much of a look in - more could've been done with Jack's Sri Lankan love - but the many virtues outweigh the flaws: the matter of fact acceptance of sex (so much so that to blackmail a man because he's gay is what makes Jack draw the line), the atmosphere, the fact it captured a Singapore now gone, Bogdanovich giving one of his best performances as a CIA man. George Lazenby is effective in a small appearance as a senator who is a blackmail target. Denholm Elliot is perfect as a sweaty accountant who comes to be Jack's one genuine friend.
There's reference to Jack replacing Aussie beef with American to feed American GIs on leave during Vietnam.
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