# XIII (2008)

> A wounded amnesiac found in a tree after a presidential assassination must piece together who he is while the state hunts him.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/6490

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 2
- Episode runtime: 86 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: thriller, action, crime
- Created by: Philippe Lyon, David Wolkove
- Network: Canal+
- Cast: Stephen McHattie, Jessalyn Gilsig, Val Kilmer, Stephen Dorff, Caterina Murino, Jacqueline Pillon, John Bourgeois, Hrant Alianak
- TMDB rating: 6.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1117667/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: brutal
- Tone: tense, paranoid, relentless, visceral

## What critics say

Audiences received this two-part thriller as a mixed but watchable conspiracy miniseries, with its amnesia hook and action set pieces drawing interest despite a thin rating base.

## Synopsis

XIII (2008) is a French-produced English-language conspiracy thriller miniseries created by Philippe Lyon and David Wolkove for Canal+. Stephen Dorff plays Ross Tanner, a man whose identity has been erased, and Val Kilmer appears as the enigmatic La Mangouste, while Stephen McHattie and Jessalyn Gilsig round out the principal cast. The engine is simple and relentless: a wounded man found in a tree after the assassination of the first female American president cannot remember a single thing about himself, yet national security is closing in on him from every side. The story unfolds across a two-episode limited series, with each long episode built from chase sequences, reversals of trust and the slow excavation of a buried past. Its tone is tense and paranoid, with a visceral edge in its violence and torture scenes, and its atmosphere is that of a government thriller in which every ally may be an enemy. Set in contemporary America, it moves like a feature-length action film stretched across two evenings. Fans of The Bourne Identity, 24 and The Fugitive will find resonance in its amnesiac protagonist, its shadowy state apparatus and its relentless manhunt structure.

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