Internationally known does not mean internationally FAMOUS. Söze was known across nations, it's true, but not even all the "Usual Suspects" criminals had heard of him.
Recall that Jack Baer (Giancarlo Esposito's character) had heard of Söze but didn't think Söze was a real person.
Before Mr. Crispy-Critter started yelling that name, Baer thought of Söze as a personal obsession of "Dan Metzheiser over in [the Department of] Justice."
Meanwhile, most of Metzheiser's co-workers (and maybe even Baer himself), compared Metzheiser to "that reporter from 'The Incredible Hulk.'"
Of course, that the reporter from "The Incredible Hulk" was actually right all along, and apparently so was Metzheiser.
Even during Verbal's story, Baer still thought Söze might just be a totem or myth.
So Kujan just hadn't heard the myth yet. Not too unbelievable, given that Söze only wanted to be known to other criminals.
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Stratego (29356)
2 years ago
Baer heard about the Soze myth on the street and not just from that Metzheiser guy. It really doesn't matter if nobody else in the FBI believed Soze was real, his name was well known.
We don't know whether the gang really knew about Soze or not, but according to Verbal the others had ALL heard of him.
The thing is, Kujan isn't a regular cop, as a customs agent he would have to deal with all kinds of criminals from different countries, so for him to not even have heard the name is peculiar. I don't see why US customs wouldn't know about this guy, but the FBI would. I'm not saying it's impossible he never heard of him, but I do think it needs an explanation, especially since Soze actually does seem to be rather famous.
"given that Söze only wanted to be known to other criminals"
I didn't see any evidence of that. The political pressure from way up high would suggest otherwise.
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ExTechOp (2768)
2 years ago
I think you're probably right and it's just a plot-weakness (not big enough to be a "hole")
But I still think there's something to Baer's line: ""Could be an old badge. A hex sign to keep people from fucking with you back when a name meant something."
In other words, I think it's possible there is no "Keyzer Söze" per se, at least not an actual Hungarian who murdered his own family. There's just a legend, dreamed up and propagated by Kevin Spacey's and Pete Postlethwaite's characters (whatever their real names may be), used to strike fear in their competitors.
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