L'assassinat de Trotsky

Remember that opening line from The Stranglers' great song from the late-70s, 'No More Heroes'? Well this film provides us with a precise answer to that question, rather than the song's own rather flippant retort ("He got an ice-pick that made his ears burn"). 'The Assassination of Trotsky' is a fascinating story and one that deserves telling. At first Richard Burton seems a bit one-dimensional but as the film develops his performance evolves to reveal the revolutionary's personal charisma, his considerable intelligence, and his devotion to Marxism and his beloved wife. Alain Delon is simply riveting as the emotionally retarded Jacson - ultimately revealing him to be a pathetic individual, and Romy Schneider is brilliantly passionate in her role as Jacson's lover and Trotsky's devoted secretary. Although flawed in parts (with a script that was clearly chopped by the studios), this is an intense, realistic examination of Trotsky's last few months, with a quite stunning murder, where Losey puts the viewer in Jacson's shoes to devastating effect. A genuinely chilling moment in very fine, though admittedly patchy, film.

So-so and unhistorical attempt attempt to dramatize the last days of the Russian Revolutionary leader Leon Trotsky in Mexico , when his ideas accordingly shrink in importance . For one moment , they hold history in their hands . With one terrible blow , they make it .

Thrilling and interesting film dealing with Trotsky's last couple of months in exile in Mexico. Revolving around a web of intrigue , concerning a twisted conspiracy of terror resulting in an act of madness carried out by Stalinist agents got to him . There are some brilliant scenes as the bullfighting scenes or the mise in scene of the murder , being competently shot . Main and secondary cast are frankly good . Richard Burton gives a nice acting , portraying him as a dry and pedantic figure, as he was the famous leader who commanded Red Army during the Civil War against the White troops , and eventually , he's done in with an ice pick . Support cast is pretty well, such as : Valentina Cortese as Trotsky's kind wife , Romy Schneider who is wasted seeming like an unfinished role , Enrico Maria Salerno as Salazar , Jean Desailly , Duilio Del Prete , Michael Forest , Hunt Powers , among others .

It contains an atmospheric cinematography by Pasqualino De Santis , however , a perfect remastering being really necessary . The picture was profesionally and deliberately directed by Joseph Losey , though it has some flaws, gaps and shortcomings . Here Losey doesn't give too much historical remarks , we're so starved of hard information that one can only wish for more . The American Losey was a good director on his own , making nice films as in USA as Great Britain where he exiled pursued by the HUAC -House Un-American Activities Committee- , as he made the following important movies : The boy with Green Hair , The Lawless , The Prowler , M , The Big Night , Time without pity , The Criminal, The Damned , Modesty Blaise , Secret Ceremony , Figures in a Landscape , The Go-betwen , Accident , A Doll's House , King and Country, Boom , Galileo, The Romantic Englshwoman , Mr Klein, and The Servant at his best .

When Joseph Losey gets his hands on the right material he can do wonders with it. This doesn't seem to have been the right material, or maybe Losey was just impatient with Burton's boozing or something.

First, don't expect a biopic of Leon Trotsky, the stormy petrel of revolution. The title describes the assassination of Trotsky. He's a professorial sort, exiled to Mexico City after Stalin took over and betrayed Lenin's principles by playing footsies with Wall Street. It often happens with extremist ideologies that they split up, because everyone wants to be purer than the next guy. At that, Trotsky was lucky to get out alive. Stalin had ANYONE who represented a threat to his power murdered. Stalin went about, doing bad.

It's an unpleasant movie. We have to sit through a bullfight and learn why movies usually don't show us the final coup, after which the bull drags himself around vomiting blood until he flops down, while the crowd cheers. I know -- the bravery and grace of the matador and all that, but why don't they just let the bull go? Sometimes there is a thin line between beauty and baseness. I understand why the scene was included. The matador does to the bull what Alan Resnais does to Burton, more or less. And instead of dying a neat Hollywood death, Burton staggers up from his chair, a hole in his skull, stares at Resnais and shrieks bloody murder.

There are long periods in which we watch Mexicans doing nothing in particular. And the scenes can be confusing. It's not always easy to tell what's going on. The musical score appears to have been made by a thousand chirping electronic crickets.

Lots of talent and momentous intentions gone awry.

There are times you go to a video rental and don't know exactly what to get, so you just take a look at the shelves and try to get the best films you can. Today I had one of these moments. While I was there, I saw "O Assassinato de Trotsky" (Assassination of Trotsky, in Portuguese).When I saw it was starred by Richard Burton, Alain Delon and Romy Schneider, I decided I should try it... thanks goodness I did. Although it's a bit slow, the film is really good. It's pure history (and I LOVE historical movies). The performances are great, the direction is memorable and the soundtrack is touching. In some moments we feel shocked (the scene of the bull fight, for example) but it's really worth watching.

My rate 8/10

This film has a reputation as a terrible film which I find greatly undeserved. It is average in the sense there are better films and there are worse. I found the film to be fairly static. The story is slow moving and the character of the assassin is never really delineated. Alain Delon is the true lead of the film, with Burton's Trotsky more a secondary character. I thought Burton did a fine job as Trotsky, the only think slightly bothering me is that Burton was physically imposing and that's not how I picture Trotsky. I picture him as more of a bookish intellectual of less than physically imposing attributes. (I do not know the actual physical attributes of Trotsky.)

In any case, Romy Schneider is very lovely and sexy and the camera also treats Delon well, even if we do not have any clear insight to his motivation. In the end, I'm not sure what the purpose of this film was and that is its greatest failure. But, while the film did not succeed, there is nothing memorably bad about it. So my rating falls plum in the middle.