The Confession (L’aveu)
Directed by Costa-Gavras
Written by Jorge Samprus from a book by Lise and Artur London
1970/France/Italy
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Instant
Lise: But why should he confess, a man like him?
Well-made and well-acted political thriller. But did I really want to watch Yves Montand get tortured for two hours?
The film is based on the true story of a Jewish Czechoslovakian government official who was purged by the Party in 1953. Gerard (Yves Montand) has great credentials as a Communist having served in the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War and in the French Resistance. He lives a comfortable life with his wife Lise (Simone Signoret) and children.
But the political climate swiftly changes and Gerard is rounded up with other members of the International Brigade, many of whom happen to be Jewish. Gerard is taken to a prison where he is ordered repeatedly to confess. Gerard lives for months in a small stinking cell where he is ordered to walk endlessly and is deprived of food and sleep. Gerard’s confession is complicated by the fact that he has no idea where he has gone wrong.
The psychological torture is ramped up to include staged false executions and some plain physical brutality. The torture culminates in a show trial.
I love Yves Montand and he is superb here in a role that requires him to be on screen most of the time. I didn’t want to watch poor Yves get tortured though.
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