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What do you get when you team up the director of MISSING and Z and the writer of SHOWGIRLS and FLASHDANCE? A political film where the FBI is portrayed as even less honorable than the Klansmen and neo-Nazis they're trying to fight, and the female lead (well played by Debra Winger) is a victim of both sides, valuable to the FBI only because of her sex appeal, and unable to trust anyone except her small stepdaughter. That said, BETRAYED is an interesting, very watchable and disturbingly credible movie with some powerful moments, and the cast (particularly Berenger, Winger and the juveniles) give excellent performances.

A thought-provoking and intelligent film dealing with brooding and thoughtful issues . This exciting political movie revolves around a woman (Debra Winger) who begins working on a farm to discover a prime suspect , and gets to know the clean-living , good-looking owner (Tom Berenguer) . They get on well , and she also gets on with his children . He asks her to stay on when her job is ended . As the relation progresses , she must struggle to remain objective , but things go wrong . As she becomes romantically involved with a Midwest farmer , taking place a moral dilemma , as things are not what they seem , as he lives a double life as a white supremacist and she lives with a man who detests , fears but also loves .

A notable and rabid political thriller that begins with the Chicago killing of a controversial radio talk-show host by right wing extremists , relying for tension and suspense on a handful of attractive set pieces . This is an intriguing and attractive drama in which an undercover agent pretends to be an ordinary woman , simulating a masquerade in order to investigate a criminal case , only to find surprising revelation , entailing a backlash of grief , tension , pressure and violent deeds . However , relying heavily for the complicated loving relationship and on a handful of charming dramatic pieces , while offering an important analysis of various problems as bigotry , racism , anti-Semitism and violence . Nice performance from Debra Winger as an obstinate agent who eventually falls in love resulting in fateful consequences and adequate acting by Tom Berenguer as a handsome farmer , a widowed who results to be a killer racist . Most of the other interpretations are excellent , such as : John Heard, Betsy Blair, John Mahoney , Ted Levine , Jeffrey DeMunn , Albert Hall , Richard Libertini , and David Clennon.

It contains an evocative and moving musical score by Bill Conti , though composed by means of synthesizer. As well as atmospheric and appropriate cinematography by Patrick Blossier , being shot on location in Chicago, Illinois, Carmangay, Calgary , Bragg Creek, Alberta, Canada. The motion picture was compellingly directed by Constantin Costa Gavras . He is a veteran filmmaker with a long career, nowadays, he's directing still , including several provoking, political and engaging movies , such as : ¨Z¨ , ¨State of siege¨, ¨The confession¨, ¨The sleeping car murders¨, ¨Missing¨,¨Hanna K¨ , ¨Conseil de Familie¨ , ¨Betrayed¨,¨Mad city¨, ¨Amen¨ , ¨The axe¨ , ¨Le Capital¨ , ¨Mad city¨ , Arcadia¨, among others. Rating 6.5/10 . Above average . Admirers of Costa Gravas 's directorial work and political stances will want to see how the filmmaker realized this acceptable film . Essential and indispensable seeing . Well worth watching.

This was one of those mythological films that I speak so highly of in other reviews. This was a gem hidden in the darkness. Looking at the cover, you would never guess that this would be such a powerhouse of a film, but let me be the first to say that it was.

Berenger and Winger are amazing in their roles. Winger giving the best performance that I have ever seen her do, while Berenger takes a character riddled with evil and makes him human. When I first began this film, I was expecting a very true Hollywood production. One that would be dark at first, but all of the sudden create this happy world at the end. This film did nothing close to that. What was amazing about this film was that it let the audience make it's own decisions. Not much was handed to you on a silver platter.

Upon the first ten minutes of this film, you would probably assume that it was a love story. It is anything BUT a love story. It is a crime/thriller/drama film, and quite possibly one of the strongest that I have seen in some time. There are some scenes in this film that I couldn't believe I was watching. The sheer brilliance of the director left me wondering if this film was really made in 1988. The cinematography was outstanding. There is one scene that stands out the most in my mind. After Berenger tries to "put down" his dying horse, he can't pull himself to shoot a living creature, so he has his side-kick do it. After it is done, he runs out into the rain behind Berenger wrapped in a plastic tarp. The image here is of the devil riding close behind. It is so vivid and so beautifully done that you can't help to wonder what that may represent. There are a couple of scenes very similar to this as well.

Now, this isn't a film without some small flaws. The young girl was annoying. Perhaps I find young children in these types of films always to be annoying, but in this case it was especially bad. Also, there were some dopey scenes to this film. There were some parts that I felt I was the director of the film watching some bad lines happen between Berenger and Winger ... but it was only a couple.

Betrayed ends like an open-ended question. It tells you that justice has been served, but not eliminated. It does not paint a pretty picture of our society. Be prepared if you see this for some embarrassing, yet disturbing images of ethnic hatred in this film. Some scenes that you will not believe ever happens in our country, but in the back of your mind you know certain evils do exist. But then also be prepared to see John Mahoney (of Say Anything... fame) do his best work ever. The war took his son, the bank took his land, why shouldn't he fight in this battle of supremacy? Dark and impressive ... WOW, I am lucky to have found this one.

Grade: ***** out of *****

It is a shame that we do not get to see much of Costa-Gavras' work here in America. The last film I remember is Z. he is a master of the political story, and this film tells a story about America that we really don't like to think about.

Costa-Gavras does his best work when he also writes the screenplay. Unfortunately here we get Joe Eszterhas, master of some of the worst crap to hit the silver screen - An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn, Showgirls, Sliver, Jade, Flashdance. What could have been a great story is merely adequate.

Debra Winger is just not credible as an undercover FBI agent. I just never believed in her. That, except for the story, was the weakest part of the film.

Tom Berenger did a great job as a racist pinhead. If they make a movie about the Oklahoma City bombing, he should play the bomber.

Great support by John Mahoney. he delivered the crucial line of the film: The bank took my farm, and Vietnam took my son, and I am left with nothing. Typical of these racists to blame all their failures on others. Why don't they try some Kipling for a change:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breath a word about your loss;

That's a man, not these whiny jerks.

"Betrayed" is loosely based on the real life murder of a left-wing radio personality by the name of Alan Berg by a white supremacist group called The Order headed by a guy named Robert Mathews. The actual murder happened sometime in the 80s (I believe). In the film Debra Winger is an FBI agent sent undercover to a farming community in rural Illinois to find out information about a possible suspect (Tom Berenger) when a Chicago radio personality is killed.

I've watched this film a number of times over the years. Something keeps pulling me back to it. As someone else mentioned, there are moments that really burn their way into your memory. I can't believe somebody else commented on it, but there is a moment after Tom Berenger's family horse is "put down" and as Bergener and a young Ted Levine are leaving the barn in the rain we see Levine wrapped in plastic holding the gun he used to shoot the horse and walking slightly behind Berenger. For some reason, I've always found the image haunting. Someone else said the image of Levine signifies the devil, which certainly makes sense.

Another moment is when Winger and Berenger are watching through a window as the combine girls leave the motel and the entire scene is played out with the camera outside, and something is blocking the lower part of Berenger's face, so all we see throughout the scene are his eyes. And Winger says, "I don't like people getting hurt". And Berenger says "They aren't people. They're mud people." Something about it is very disturbing and strange.

The racial tirades in the film are quite jarring, too. Especially when the kids say them. The ugliness and hatred of the words contrasts so sharply with the obvious innocence of the children. We see so clearly that the children are not inherently bad, and are simply being taught hatred, as someone would teach a child the alphabet.

The hunting scene, as almost every reviewer has mentioned, is very disturbing, and is clearly meant to be disturbing. I still have trouble watching it.

I do think this is an important film, however. Most films depict the Aryan nation and similar groups as quite simply evil, without offering any kind of logic or shape to what they are about. Betrayed is a film that actually dares to show them as real people. The character of Shorty, played by John Mahoney is a brilliant creation and his campfire speech to Debra Winger, explaining his motivation for behaving like he does, is extremely important for anyone who wants to learn why some people would join a radical group.

Incidentally, there is also a (very disturbing) play entitled "God's Country" that is about the Alan Berg murder and Robert Mathews. And the Oliver Stone film "Talk Radio" is loosely based on Alan Berg's life and murder.

A camping trip turns sinister as agent Cathy Weaver (Debra Winger) infiltrates a dangerous white supremacist network in Costa Gavras' gripping thriller Betrayed. Tom Berenger stated in an interview that out of all his films, this one was his favorite. It's arguable lest we forget he was in Inception too. The critics couldn't come to a conclusion whether or not this film reflected a conflict between Hollywood and the customary left-wing intentions of its director Costa Gavras. It is never easy to reduce two or more angles to a concise and drastic facet. This is not documentary, it's fiction, but a question is raised: is the American Heartland racialist in general? Is the timeless relevance of the film rather obscure? It portrays the upright, affectionate farmer and war veteran as a racist murderer and terrorist. It goes far beyond comparable roles & characters in the American cinema at large. Anyway, Berenger and lovely Debra Winger provide high-level performance. The rest of the cast, the camerawork, and an uncompromised dramatic composition complete a film that, if is not quite the concerned masterpiece Costa Gavras intended to produce, is still very much interesting.

Federal agent Debra Winger goes undercover in rural Texas as a combine operator, infiltrating a group of down-home guys and their families in the hopes of linking them to white supremacy and the murder of a shock-talk radio host. Winger is romanced by the group's ringleader (Tom Berenger), and very quickly seems to cross many lines that aren't covered in the FBI trainee's manual. Berenger takes Winger to a KKK camp-out, to a human hunt (with a black man as the target) and to a bank robbery (to finance their cause), yet Debra's superiors actually request that she get more probing evidence! An exasperating movie, with facetious, halting dialogue leaving whole sequences feeling half-finished--and Winger's character without much personality. Director Costa-Gavras seems intent on underplaying this whole matter, to the point where even shocking moments come off as muted, matter-of-fact occurrences. **1/2 from ****

I've seen Betrayed for three times now, and each time it just gets better and better.

Tom Berenger is excellent as Gary Simmons. He is perfect for the role, that requires in-depth understanding about love and hate. This man loves his family dearly and is extremely loyal to things he believes to be justified, and at the same time he is capable of doing most savage deeds towards other people he think are sub-human. Simmons is so cold and yet such a nice man at the same time it makes my blood freeze in my veins.

Also Debra Winger is great as Katie Phillips. She finds herself falling in love with this man and then realizes that everything is not so perfect she thought it was. Her disappointment is almost palpable. I highly recommend this movie to all, who wonder with amazement the dark sides of human nature.

A pretty decent thriller, in spite of the subject matter. Debra Winger is such a good actress. Every time I see a one of her films, I am pleased with her range. I wonder what she's doing these days? She has has that beauty, yet a girl-next-door look. I can't imagine her character going back into that nest of loons, though. Interesting how Berenger's character belongs to this white supremacist network yet has such contempt for the Nazi-loons. Worth a look, and a must-see for Winger fans.

If you found American History X powerful, check this out. This movie walks the fine line between fiction and reality, in that it starts out with a portrayal of the murder of the Jewish talk show host in Denver, a real life event, by racist extremists. This is a movie that is especially relevant now , with the upsurge of white supremacist groups. The acting is good; the content is chilling and sobering.

Convincing performances & great Alberta locations shine in this tension-laden drama that shows just how frightening and far-reaching ignorance really is - both then & now. Spoiled only slightly by a few missteps & a rushed ending.

#nitrosMovieChallenge.

****SPOILERS**** Shocking disturbing but at the same time penetrating film by director Costa-Garvras about terror in Americas heartland spilling over into the big city, Chicago. A popular but controversial Jewish talk show host Sam Kraus, Richard Libertini, gets gunned down by a group of white separatists in the garage of his apartment building the killers leave their calling card on the murder scene Z.O.G : Zionist occupied government. A phrase that the separatists use to refer to the US government all throughout the movie.

The FBI in trying to find and arrest those who perpetrated the crime send agent Cathy Phillips/ Kathy Weaver, Debra Winger, undercover to the farm land in the area where they think that the killers come from. Due to the very high anti-government sentiment there with farmers in danger of losing their land. It turns out that Agent Phillips should have been the last person for the FBI to put on a case like that due to her very sad home and family life. Phillips lost her parents at a very young age and had no family her entire life but her employer the FBI which was anything but loving and personal to her.

In the farm land and being undercover as Cathy Weaver she falls in love and lives with murder suspect Gary Simmons, Tom Berenger, and his family. Simmons is a widower with children who's mother also lives with him that has Cathy/Katie for the first time in her life have the family that she always longed for. This very fact is what Cathy says is "Screwing up her loyalties" to the government and FBI that she works for.Cathy/Katie desperately wants to be taken off the case before she betrays the man, Gary, as well as the family that she loves. Still the FBI refuses to do so because Cathy's in too deep and is too close to break the case on the Kraus killing.

Gary is also very honest with Cathy/Katie by telling her about himself and what he and his friends, the anti-government white separatists, are all about. Gary even takes Cathy/Katie out one night to a "Hunt" where Gary and his friends hunt down and murder a terrified young black man in the back woods. This makes Cathy/Katie feel terribly guilty since she's not honest with Gary even though Gary is so brutally honest with her about himself.

Debra Winger is phenomenal as the FBI undercover agent who's emotions are stronger the her senses and is tortured in what she's doing by setting up her lover as well as his family for the FBI. Even though he's a murder and is planing with his friends to commit a major attack and assassination of a number of top government leaders. Tom Berenger is as good as he ever was as the all-America Vietnam war hero who comes across as a cross between Gary Cooper and Jimmy Stewart that it's hard to believe that he not only believes the radical ideas that he openly talks about but also practices them. Meanwhile with all this going on there's a sinister sub-plot about an Illinois election that is connected with Gary's group that goes totally unnoticed by the FBI until it's too late that Gary kept from Cathy/Katie which exploded at the end of the film.

Pre-dating April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City bombing by seven years and the 9-11 terrorists attacks on New York City and Washington D.C by thirteen the film is without a doubt one the best movie about terrorism on US soil ever made and It puzzles me why Costa-Garvras' "Betrayed" doesn't get the attention that it should after those two terrible events.

Betrayed is a surprisingly effective movie with a good script. Deborah Winger play an FBI agent who has infiltrated a farming community that may have ties to white supremacist groups. Her undercover work leads her to an emotional involvement with one of the people she is meant to investigate, and the situation leads to her become conflicted about her loyalties. The movie has a good plot and some genuinely suspenseful moments.

I found this movie to be effective as both fiction and non-fiction. Debra Winger and Tom Berenger both give first rate performances. This movie reveals how racism is passed down from one generation to the next. The passage, "the sins of the father are visited on the son" seem particularly relevant. I was surprised that it did not receive a higher user rating. Eventhough I saw it years ago, it remains in my memory as a very powerful and important movie.

This movie was made about a dozen years before "American History X". Tom Berenger(Shadow of Doubt,Shattered,Sniper) and Debra Winger(TV's Wonder Woman) star in thriller about Nazi like people living here in the U.S.A. Debra Winger goes undercover to find out a murder somehow related to Nazi racists living in the midwest. To do this , she moves in with a family man(Tom Berenger). During the movie , they fall in love. Of course the FBI is having Cathy Weaver(Winger) report in on a regular basis(she has to lie to Gary Simmons, the man and family she lives with. Later on , she goes on a trip with Simmons and his friends. It is here where the real plan of the racists Nazi's is revealed. The suspense is very thick in this scary thriller. It is American History X's relative because it is very similar , yet the message is brought home about racism!!!Even teenagers can learn from this movie!!!Just be sure they understand racism and the problems it makes!!This movie also shows people starting to get mad their government , so made check Arlington Road with Jeff Bridges too with this movie!!!

It's too bad Costa-Gavras hooked up with the appalling Joe Eszterhas for this sociopolitical thriller. A movie that attacks the white supremacist movement was a great idea, but this movie is far, far from great. Characters are inconsistent and thinly drawn; motivations are foggy; every point is pounded home. Depicting these racist pigs as regular, ordinary Americans was on the money, and John Mahoney and Jeffrey DeMunn are excellent. But the movie is obvious and forced, turning an important idea into mere hackneyed melodrama.