Mephisto

A struggling yet passionate provincial actor finds his star swiftly rising once he latches it to the Nazi propaganda machine in Szabó’s powerful statement on fascism, indifference, and personal responsibility when confronted with tyranny. Whether jazzercising in stirrup tights with his black lover or bowing in a suit to his Nazi overlords, the electric Klaus Maria Brandauer anchors the film as the not particularly conflicted thespian, who coolly abandons principles and friends in favor of what he insists is merely the chance to play a role. His biggest performance is as Mephisto in Faust, but a “friendship” with a Goebbels-like Nazi officer—and the disappearance of former colleagues—soon raises questions about who, indeed, is in control. “There has been precious little incisive appraisal of the precise seductive allure of fascism, and certainly none to match that offered by Szabó’s remarkable film” (Paul Taylor, Time Out). For none other than Ingmar Bergman, “this film is a work of art. The film transmits its messages so forcefully that no one can remain unaffected.”