Colonel Redl (1985)

an insight into cowardice.

I haven't viewed this movie since I first saw it, years ago. I obviously must have regarded it highly to pay such a price for the DVD. It is an excellent study of cowardice. Brandauer was such a great actor. I wonder what happened to him. July 13, 2008

wiener blut, wiener blut

director istvan szabo and actor klaus maria brandauer had scored a huge hit a few years earlier with "mephisto", and this followup is almost as good. herein brandauer plays a corrupt military official in the waning days of the austro-hungarian empire who is eventually caught up in his own intrigues and hoist on his own petard. a sparkling film to look at, and a fine essay on the havoc personal and political corruption symbiotically work upon one another.
June 11, 2007

Power that Corrupts

If Szabo had achieved nothing else in his career, the trilogy of master works done in the mid 1980s would stand him in a unique place in late 20th century cinema. His partnership with Brandauer was particularly fruitful. The nearest USA equivalent that comes to mind was the spate of Scorceese/De Niro films that elevated both men into popular consciousness and were able to express a novel and pertinent psychological depth. All three films are gems, but this is my favourite, most likely because of the conviction the actor evinces from his dilemna; going against his instincts as an actor. As remarked often enough, the final scene is absolutely unforgettable, so much so that when I first saw it, I could not sleep afterwards. So much so, that in rewatching the film I found most of my images had been consumed by and condensed into the final unbearable minutes. Betrayal Bigtime. In this role of betryer the arch-duke, played by Mueller-Stahl, is equally brilliant. The 'true biography' of Redl may well have been distorted in the service of the director's own issues (in much the same way as Oliver Stone played with the Kennedy tale). The archival footage of the First World War erupting after the assassination of the archduke, rings true. Though Redl's actual importance in the jigsaw of the sequence is, perhaps open to question. Marvellous film, in all respects. November 1, 2006

The Secret Policeman's Fall

"Colonel Redl" is the middle film of Istvan Szabo's "trilogy of betrayal and political murder" that he made with the actor Klaus Maria Brandauer in the 1980's. All three films (including "Mephisto" and "Hanussen") are twisted classics, while Szabo's later 2000 film, "Sunshine" is a neglected epic masterpiece concerned with the same themes. Szabo, more than any other filmmaker I can think of, understands how ideology and the lust for power destroyed so many ordinary lives in the 20th century. As Brandauer says in an interview on the "Redl" DVD, even if you say "I hate politics and politicians" like Redl does, that is in itself a political act. If you live among other human beings you can't escape politics, so you had better learn to act responsibly.

Although the film is based on the true story of the infamous traitor Alfred Redl, Szabo has taken some liberties, so this might be better understood as historical fiction. Szabo's Redl grows up in an impoverished Ukranian family living in the Austro-Hungarian empire before World War I. He joins the army's officer corps, and rises through the ranks by being more Hungarian than the Hungarians (while concealing his own lower-class roots, ethnic identity, and homosexual inclinations.) Eventually he meets up with the de facto dictator of the empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand (chillingly played by Armin Mueller-Stahl) who makes Redl chief of military intelligence and enmeshes him in a web of intrigue and lethal gamesmanship.

This film was made in Hungary in 1985 while it was still a Communist state, so if I'm not mistaken "Colonel Redl" is a veiled critique of the way the Communists used and abused their secret policemen in order to spy on citizens and crush dissenters. Certainly Redl tries with all his might to follow a political ideal of the monarchy that tragically has no basis in reality. And the saturnine, manipulative Mueller-Stahl, with his large mustache, seems very Joseph Stalin-like to me. Szabo suggests that the "Redl affair" unintentionally helped begin the conflagration of World War I and thus the whole murderous catastrophe of the European 20th century.

In order to play this ultimate conformist, Brandauer had to tamp down all his acting dynamism and just smolder with rage and desperation through most of the movie, except in a few crucial scenes where his fear and hysteria break through. The final scenes are stunning as Brandauer simultaneously breaks down and struggles for control. Redl's Jewish friend tells him a folk saying: "God, you didn't make me Moses and you didn't make me the Emperor. So all I can be responsible for is being me." A powerful lesson which Redl, and so many of us who seek radical solutions for the world's ills, learn too late. All of Szabo's films start slowly and gather tremendous force as they go along. Stick with this one and you'll be amply rewarded. May 5, 2005

Szabo's Crown!

Hungarian director István Szabó put his country on the map with his masterpiece, 'Sunshine.' Yet, it would be pity if his earlier works failed to get the credit they so much deserve. 'Colonel Redl' is one of his very best, but hardly known west of the Danube.

While the setting of the film(turn-of-the-century Austro-Hungary)may seem distant to many, Colonel Alfred Redl remains a character many of us can identity with. Born into a mixed family, his mother of impoverished Hungarian nobility, his father, a Ruthenian station-master, Redl is the everyman of Central Europe. Denied the chance to identify with the simmering national movements that eventually tore the Hapsburg Empire apart, Redl finds his own identity in being a 'servant' of Empire and Emperor.

The film opens with Redl being sent off to military school to become an officer in the Imperial Army. Redl mother wants to restore her family's past glory through her son, and Redl soon wins favor everywhere for his talent, drive and loyalty to the Empire's ideal: tolerance for all and devotion to the Crown. Redl befriends Kubinyi, a Hungarian nobleman,and together the two slowly climb the ladder of career-officers. While Kubinyi slowly falls prey to the national aspirations of a Hapsburg-free Hungary, Redl remains faithful to his benefactor, to his raison d'etre. Redl feverishly defends his King and country by working to uncover the various nationalistic movements that threaten the Empire's solidarity.

His superiors find the perfect servant in Redl. His loyalty to the crown is steadfast, but the parvenus around the aging Emperor sense that Redl is their worst enemy. Nationalism is just one of the many diseases gnawing away at the Empire. The self-interest and greed of the nobles-in-waiting prove to be an even greater danger. As head of counter-intelligence, Redl soon sniffs out the bloody dagger; Austrian and Hungarian aristocrats are planning a coup d'etát with the help of Tsarist Russia.

Waiting to catch the guilty conspirators, Redl is caught instead. His hidden homosexuality becomes known to the court and he is put into a compromising position. Public disgrace with discharge from the service or take the 'more honorable' position of scapegoat that he, Colonel Redl, conspired with the Russians. Disloyalty to himself or disloyalty to the Emperor and Empire---to his new-found father and family? A cruel choice that Redl is forced to make.

'Colonel Redl' works like a Shakespearian tragedy. Caught between a vice-grip of loyalties, the individual must learn the bitter truth of 'to thine own self be true.' A lesson universally true, irregardless of time and place. Not only does this film put you before a painful human conflict, it also delights the eyes. Like in all Szabó films, colors, smiles, glances and even the smallest of details all mesh together to create that which is often missing from films nowadays: atmosphere. Szabó puts you into Redl's stark Galician home, rigid military school, into the arms of his lovers--both male and female--and lastly, into the velvet-padded room of his final torment. Szabó has assembled a brilliant cast from some of Hungary's finest actors---look for Károly Eperjes and Dorottya Udvaros, but Austrian Klaus Brandauer steals the show. One of the most expressive of actors, his every movement, every stare, every sigh convey more than hours of dialogue ever could.

For those interested in Central Europe, 'Colonel Redl' is a must-see. Moreover, those connoisseurs of sensitive and wrenching drama should search for this rare diamond on Istvan Szabó's jewel-studded crown. Highly recommended! January 7, 2005

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