The Confession

Anton Ludvik, aka Gerard, is vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia. He realizes he is watched and followed. One day, he is arrested and put into jail, in solitary confinement. Will be shown the mental tortures during the investigations and how a faithful top-ranking civil servant is made to confess to treason.

A French political thriller based on a real story in Czechoslovakia? Wow! This actually makes a lot of sense. The Czech people do not have many stories told about them, but they do happen to live in an unfortunate area, sandwiched between Germany and Russia. And, as we know, throughout the 20th Century, those two nations liked to assert their influence on the neighbors.

It is so great to see the story here of a man who stood against the Nazis now having to fight back against the politicians he helped support (sort of).

I saw it as a Eastern viewer, knowing , directly, few crumbs of the last decade of Ceausescu regime. I saw it, too, as History teacher. And as one of familiars with the universe of Costa Gavras cinematographic work. It is a pure masterpiece , first for the high dose of truth. Second, for acting. Not the last, for the final part . In essence a try of exorcism. Brutal, honest, precise. Maybe useful.

The split between Tito and Stalin (1948), in the late 1940s and early 1950s, was followed by show trials of prominent Communists all over Eastern Europe and the wave of Stalinist purges in which tens of thousands suffered or lost their lives. This movie is about the 1952 process in Prague, conducted against Rudolf Slánský and 13 other leading members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSC). The main protagonist - Anton Ludvik, aka Gerard, is based on Arthur London, veteran of the Spanish Civil War and the French resistance movement, who, at the time of the arrest, was vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia and a senior official of KSC. Display of Stalinist torture and interrogation process in preparation for rigged political trial is very realistic. Based on actual events.

Came across this excellent film tonight on the Turner Classic Movie channel. I won't rehash the film story here, it has been explained quite well by previous reviewers.

Want only to state that I first saw it when it was released back in 1970-71. I was a very young soldier then. The Vietnam war was still raging and the cold war with the Soviets and Warsaw Pact nations was very real. The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 was still fresh in our minds.

Even though it is not entirely an anti-communist film, rather an honest look of what can and did go horribly wrong in soviet bloc countries, it was a chilling reminder to us of how frightening life could be in a totalitarian state.

Released here in the U.S. during a time of continued civil unrest and anti-war sentiment carried over from the late '60's, it was sort of a reality check to the growing affection for the left wing, socialist philosophy etc. among the younger generation.

Anton Ludvik aka Gerard (Yves Montand) is the vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia. He is worried that he's being followed. Other officials are being picked up in a purge. He gets picked up by a dark militaristic organization. His family is harassed. His wife Londonova (Simone Signoret) struggles in her new circumstances. He is psychologically tortured to give false confessions.

This is basically two hours of movie confinement with his jailers doing all kinds of psychological warfare. At times, I feel like being tortured myself. There's good and bad in that. It doesn't make for a pleasant or necessarily a compelling viewing experience. It's more of a compelling academic exercise. This is the cinematic equivalent of stress position. The acting is impeccable and the production is first rate. It's Kafkaesque and a cry against totalitarianism.