Circle of Deceit (1981)

Laschen, a German journalist, travels to the city of Beirut during the fights between Christians and Palestinians to produce an essay about the situation. Together with his photographer, he... See full summary »

Director:

Volker Schlöndorff

Writers:

Nicolas Born (novel), Volker Schlöndorff (screenplay)

Stars:

Bruno Ganz, Hanna Schygulla, Jean Carmet

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruno Ganz	...	Georg Laschen
Hanna Schygulla	...	Ariane Nassar
Jerzy Skolimowski	...	Hoffmann
Jean Carmet	...	Rudnik
Gila von Weitershausen	...	Greta Laschen
Peter Martin Urtel	...	Berger (as Martin Urtel)
John Munro	...	John
Fouad Naim	...	Excellence Joseph
Josette Khalil	...	Madame Joseph
Ghassan Mattar	...	Ahmed
Sarah Salem	...	Sister Brigitte
Rafic Najem	...	Taxi
Magnia Fakhoury	...	Aicha
Jack Diagilaitas	...	Swedish Journalist
Roger Assaf	...	Phalangist Officer

Storyline

Laschen, a German journalist, travels to the city of Beirut during the fights between Christians and Palestinians to produce an essay about the situation. Together with his photographer, he meets some important people and discovers the everyday face of the war. He also has to figure out about his home life, where his marriage is in a big crisis.

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Plot Keywords:

photographer | palestinian | marriage | journalist | german | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

West Germany France

Language:

German French Arabic English

Release Date:

28 October 1981 (France)

Also Known As:

Circle of Deceit

Filming Locations:

Lebanon

Company Credits

Production Co:

Argos Films, Artemis Film, Bioskop Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was part of a cycle of pictures made during the 1980s that featured journalists covering war. The movies include Salvador (1986), Under Fire (1983), Circle of Deceit [Circle of Deceit (1981)], Deadline (1987), Cry Freedom (1987), The Killing Fields (1984) and The Year of Living Dangerously (1982).

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits run in a single at the bottom of the screen, right to left in the style of a news ticker.

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Connections

Featured in Sneak Previews: Fantasia/The Kirlean Witness/Diva/Circle of Deceit (1982)

User Reviews

brutally honest

Lacking even a token gesture of Hollywood gloss, this inside look at the Lebanese civil war is strong stuff indeed, which may be why it never found an audience (in this country at least) when first released. The filmmakers made use of actual Beirut locations to follow the brutal, ambiguous account of one journalist's education into the abject moral poverty of violence, and the documentary realism of the background lends a frightening authority to the subject. It's difficult at times to tell just what is real and what is staged, and the essential nihilism of the conflict is further reinforced by the film's detachment from any political sympathies, although there's something uncomfortable in the idea of a German citizen pondering the immorality of genocide. We're led to assume his private and professional ethics are being tested in the face of such extreme bloodshed, but it's hard to avoid making deeper historical connections.