1970; directed by Costa-Gavras; Adapted by Jorge Semprún; 138 mins
The first recurring director here, I think. That said, this is only the second movie I have seen that is directed by Costa-Gavras after Z. The Confession is a dark, exhausting, disorientating movie about true Communism vs. Stalinist Totalitarianism. This angry biopic is based on the true story of Czech Communist party leader, Artur London (1915-1986) and his many months in prison being interrogated as a traitor to the party based on trumped-up charges cooked up by a government that needed rid of any and all dissenters. This is a very different story to Z, whereas the former film was darting all over a city, taking in informants, heavies, politicians, generals and people both central and periferal to the story, this is a literal chamber piece concerning a small group of people trying to break one man. Continue reading
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