István Szabó's Academy Award-nominated "Oberst Redl" ("Colonel Redl" in English) has essentially two focuses. The main one is on the title character who rises through the ranks of Austria-Hungary's army, becoming the head of the counter-intelligence wing. A closeted gay man, Russia blackmailed Redl and forced him to hand over secrets, and Austria-Hungary's government eventually convinced him to take his own life.
But there's something else. In a few scenes there's evidence that ugly times are ahead. Towards the end of the movie, Redl attends a masked ball where people are gossiping about rumors of a coming war. Finally, following Redl's suicide, Archduke Ferdinand gets assassinated and Europe gets plunged into war. The auction scene right after Redl's suicide came across as an analogy for the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after WWI.
Both a look at the main character and the factors leading to Austria-Hungary's eventual collapse, it's a fine piece of work. Not that I expect less from István Szabó. I also recommend his "Sunshine", about a Jewish-Hungarian family in the early twentieth century.*
Good one.
*In that movie, the family's name is Sonnenschein (German for sunshine), and there's also a character in this one named Sonnenschein. IMDb forgot to mention that in the trivia.
But there's something else. In a few scenes there's evidence that ugly times are ahead. Towards the end of the movie, Redl attends a masked ball where people are gossiping about rumors of a coming war. Finally, following Redl's suicide, Archduke Ferdinand gets assassinated and Europe gets plunged into war. The auction scene right after Redl's suicide came across as an analogy for the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after WWI.
Both a look at the main character and the factors leading to Austria-Hungary's eventual collapse, it's a fine piece of work. Not that I expect less from István Szabó. I also recommend his "Sunshine", about a Jewish-Hungarian family in the early twentieth century.*
Good one.
*In that movie, the family's name is Sonnenschein (German for sunshine), and there's also a character in this one named Sonnenschein. IMDb forgot to mention that in the trivia.