Circle of Deceit (1981)
Directed by Volker Schlöndorff
Genres - Drama, War |
Sub-Genres - Political Drama, War Drama |
Run Time - 108 min. |
Countries - Germany, France |
MPAA Rating - R
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
Bruno Ganz plays a West German journalist whose frequent assignments to war-torn nations have left him jaundiced. He is assigned to cover the civil war in Beirut. The combination of his harrowing experiences on the job and his after-hours relationship with widow Hannah Schygulla affects Ganz deeply, in spite of the wall he's built around himself. He suffers a crisis of conscience when he is forced to commit himself to someone--and something--for the first time in his life. The plot of Circle of Deceit was based on the reminiscences of novelist Nicolas Born; the picture's realism is grotesquely enhanced by the decision to film on location in Beirut, surrounding the actors with genuine wartime carnage--bodies and all. Originally titled Die Falschung, Circle of Deceit is not a comfortable experience, but few will stop watching once the film has started.
Characteristics
Themes
Keywords
war, battle [war], bomb, civil-war, conflict, death, evacuation, fear-of-commitment, journalism, love, marital-problems, news, questioning [police interrogation], reporter, terror, torment, turmoil, understanding, violence, war-correspondent, widow/widower