larger than life. A wonderful performance in a terrific film (which won the gold at Cannes) by the very talented and seldom-mentioned as one of the greatest of directors--- which he is--- Andresz Wajda, of Poland.
The film takes place long after the 1789 storming of the Bastille and not long after Louis XV1 is beheaded, four years later, and when the Terror is in full swing. Robespierre is the leading figure almost by default as Danton, the other titan, has left Paris to more peacefully reside in the countryside. As the slaughter continues, Danton returns to confront Robespierre over the carnage but his old friend, and Robespierre's inner circle, suddenly see Danton himself as a mortal threat to the Revolution. It is this feud between these two men, with quite literally a long history between them, which ignites the passion, the explosiveness of this epic battle to the death and which will determine the fates of tens of thousands of French citizens.
Not a talky, intellectual film at all but exciting filmmaking which shows the power of art to make one "feel" history. Robespierre, played by the very talented Polish actor Wojciech Pszoniak, is a quiet, tortured, cold but ultimately brutal man who is every bit the equal of the charismatic Danton.
Wajda cleverly cast Polish actors for the Robespierre camp and French ones for the coterie of Danton. For those who see the film as the Polish activist director's vehicle for criticizing his native country---- you may have a point but that should be seen as absolutely extraneous to the enjoyment of this film as its own period piece.
This is an unjustly forgotten film, as are many of Wajda's.
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