Estado de Sitio

State of Siege shows how the U.S. aided and abetted right-wing dictatorships in Latin America during the Cold War. Yves Montand plays an American sent by our government to teach torture techniques to police in Uruguay. He is kidnapped by Tupamaro guerillas, interrogated and presented with proof of his activities. We witness how the military, the diplomats, and the press deal with the crisis. State of Siege generates a great deal of tension and suspense, even though we know the outcome. Director Costa-Gavras tends to romanticize the Left, but what is presented here is now widely acknowledged as fact. State of Siege is a film of historical importance that deserves your attention.

"State of Siege" is a terrific movie with the same look and feel as Costa-Gavras's other classic of the period, "Z." Set in Uruguay, "State of Siege" was actually filmed in Chile during the Allende presidency, and was ironically released shortly before the coup that overthrow Allende (the subject, of course, of "Missing," another Costa-Gavras film).

"Z" was released on DVD last year in a newly restored version with excellent additional materials (modern interviews of Costa Gavras and Jorge Semprun, who wrote the screenplay, as well as interviews with the actors). My question is, when will "State of Siege" receive the same treatment? It is not available for sale in the US in any form, and is almost impossible to find as a rental. Now that "Z" is available in such an excellent edition, its about time "State of Siege" was too.

This is not a fiction film. In fact, it reveals the way the guerrilla movement Tupamaros acted in Uruguay during the 70s. For those young people, it is necessary to remind that this left-wing movement was not a guerrilla in the mountains but an urban one, operating mainly in Montevideo. They used to kill esbirros (nasty policemen and agents) and to make justice against the existing dictatorship whenever it was required. The movement operated in a secret and compartmented way, i.e. many of the members did not know each other, thus avoiding to be eliminated by denunciation. Costa Gavras was able to draw the way Tupamaros acted in Uruguay, and also an important happening of those days, the way the CIA agent Mr. Dan Mitrione (Yves Montand) was killed. In fact this movement was disarticulated once new police agents infiltrated in the movement, and the main leaders were discovered. Mitrione was killed but this did not prevent that another CIA "pinch-hitter" for Mitrione came later to replace the dead man. The film may seem as sympathetic to Tupamaros, partially it might be, but this is rather a subtle critic to their methods than congratulation for what they did.

Costa-Gavras' movies are often the best examples of how art can be used to educate the audience. And, State of Siege is certainly one of the most ambitious and focused attempts.

The movie is a careful presentation, an expose, on the methods and procedures of law enforcement and state police in Latin America. Furthermore, it paints the picture of a kind of American neo-imperialism or neo-colonialism.

The movie is bold, the movie is courageous, but most of all it is smart and intelligent. That being said the strength of the film is the attention of detail and it's patience. Every situation is set up and for everything, there is a payoff. Nobody does films likes this nowadays, with hundreds of extras, everything shot on location. This is one extreme form of filmmaking, where there is the least amount of shortcuts and trickery. The movie almost feels like a film version of the Grand Reportage of old. A careful mix of investigation and photojournalism. That is why you do not mind being lectured. Because the film is beautiful and has rich texture, you do not mind sitting through police violence, death squad meetings and political corruption. The text of the movie might be heavy but is balanced by the visual style.

It may be at times too smart: some of the scenes may be too wordy and whenever there is action, it is subordinate to the dialog between characters. There is a lot of expository dialog in this film, and usually this a fault, because it goes against "show don't tell". Yet, here it does not harm the argument. The way the situation is laid out in dialog between Santore and his captors is initially dry and infuriating, but as Santore perception shifts it becomes engaging. The other channel of exposition is the reporter who is merely covering the story from the outside. It almost feels as it is the most interesting part of the film given that Santore's plot is rather stale, he gets kidnapped and they talk about it for an hour. The political plot could have been the meat of the movie but unfortunately, it does not go far enough, it is treated as B-plot. However, it still functions for its political themes. My favorite scene is the sequence where all the government ministers climb out of their cars. That is cinema in its purest form. It is complete fiction but it feels real.

You can regret that the movie is not as strong narratively. There is no a lot of action, in terms of narrative. Nothing happens in the course of the movie, only minor events. The story should be the last days of Phillip Michael Santore, but it is not what the movie is about.

For that reason it does not stand at the top of Costa-Gavras' oeuvre. On the topic of government corruption and the police and fascism love story, Gravas' "Z" is the best.

This is a thrilling and moving film concerning a conspiracy-theory premise . It is based on actual facts and set in Uruguay in the early 1970s , upon the kidnapping carried out by the leftist terrorist Organization Tupamaros on three notorious men , and one of them : Yves Montand suspected to be involved in murder and torture in Uruguay in the 60s. In 1973 the CIA called it propaganda . See it now . From the team that made "Z" . Any resemblance to actual events or to anyone living or dead is not accidental.

Stunning third collaboration between Costa-Gavras and Yves Montand about the real-life of USAID (US Agency for International Development) employee Daniel Mitrione who is abducted by a bunch of urban guerrillas , being adapted from a true story , entirely filmed on location in South America . It contains a conspiracy-theory in similar style to subsequent Oliver Stone's JFK and similarly twisted and disturbing , whether you believe it or no . Displaying snazzy editing , adequate musical score by Mikis Theodorakis and atmospheric cinematography by Pierre-William Glenn . And shot on location in region Valparaíso, Cerro Playa Ancha, Viña Del Mar and Santiago De Chile. However , the movie sacrifices analysis and integrity in favour of an exploitative and popular polemic. Yves Montand gives a good acting , as usual . Being well accompanied by a fine support cast , such as : Renato Salvatori, O. E. Hasse , Jacques Wever , Jacques Perrin and Jean Luc Bideau .

The motion picture was compellingly directed by Constantine Costa-Gavras and it won Bafta , Golden Globes , New York Critics Awards . This veteran director who goes on shooting has filmed important , polemic and controversial movies , such as : "Z", "The Confession", "Special Section" , "Missing" , "Betrayed" , "Music Box" , "Against Oblivion" , "Mad City" , "Amen", "The Axe", among others . Rating : 7/10 , better than average .