Colonel Redl (1985)

"Colonel Redl" is based on a famous scandal that took place in the last years of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and its greatest strength is in how it evokes the masculine militarism of the era. It follows the life of Alfred Redl (Klaus Maria Brandauer), who rose from humble origins to become a spymaster for Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand, but struggled to repress his homosexuality and eventually betrayed his country.The movie makes Redl less treasonous than he seems to have been in reality, and Brandauer's performance keeps him sympathetic, too. We see how Redl's extreme loyalty to the army destroys his humanity and fills him with self-loathing; thus, when he finally stops lying to himself, it comes as a relief (even though this now means that he is lying to everybody else)."Colonel Redl" is probably too long (2 hours 20 minutes) for the story it wants to tell, and yet it still sometimes glosses over its characters' motivations. For instance, Redl claims he has no interest in marrying, then the very next scene depicts his wedding; and his wife never gets sufficiently characterized. Sometimes the scene transitions are subtly clever; other times they are abrupt and choppy."Colonel Redl" is thus neither accurate history nor fully engaging drama, but it is a good portrait of the declining Austro-Hungarian empire. It shows many of the factors that led to World War I: pervasive ethnic tensions, the belief that war was necessary and proper, and a military command more concerned with preserving archaic ideals than with investigating actual, pressing threats. In the end, they paid for this, when discontented Serbians assassinated Franz Ferdinand and started World War I--the war that caused the world of "Colonel Redl" to disappear for good.

Does Brandauer overact as one commenter has charged? At some parts of this brilliant, enigmatic film it could be argued that he does. But some histrionics might be expected from a man alone in a room who has been ordered to shoot himself and be quick about it.This is as much a political movie as a biographical one. It takes many liberties with the historical record. The generally accepted version is that Alfred Redl was being blackmailed by the Russian secret service which had learned of his homosexuality. There are NO Russians in this movie. That Redl was homosexual is only obliquely stated until the final thirty minutes. Indeed, before that he has relations with several women: a Vienna prostitute who acts the Happy Hooker indeed and the (married) sister of a fellow officer.In this film the poor performance of the Austrian armies in World War I is explained by an officer corps more concerned with drinking, card playing and skirt chasing than with military matters. Redl's handing over to his Russian controllers the troop dispositions for the Austrian armies is generally believed to be the cause of the losses during the opening stage of the War. The doomed Archduke Franz Ferdinand's only fault supposedly was that he lacked charm. Here the veteran German actor Mueller-Stahl portrays the **Thronfolger** as a political schemer, a shabby little man (he always appears unshaven) trying to hold the Monarchy together through trumped-up conspiracies and the playing off of one nationality against another.What this picture does best is portray the hollow grandeur of Habsburg Austria during its final years. The sets are magnificent. In one telling scene early in the picture, the boy Alfred, invited to an aristocratic home, spills some coffee and **four** servants come to clean up the spill.One minor quibble: this German-language movie is set in the Austrian Empire, much of it in Vienna the capital, yet no one sounds Austrian. The accent is very different from High German (Americans may compare Kissinger and Schwartzenegger). It would be like "Gone With the Wind" with all the Southerners speaking a kind of Oxford English.

"Colonel Redl" (German, 1984): Starring Klaus Marie Brandauer, directed by Istvan Szabo. This is the second film of a trilogy. (The first, "Mephisto", the third, "Hanussen" I do not own, but will try to find for rental.) Here we are in Germany again, but before WWI. A young man decides that the only way to raise himself from his peasant roots is to enter the aristocratic military world – and is willing to do anything to get in, stay in, and advance in. This he does, but there's always The Price. He slowly loses those things and people which held any meaning or joy for him. He finds himself an amateur in a world that is completely Darwinian, and long-practiced in the art of manipulation. Like "Mephisto", the ladder climber seems to reach spectacular heights, only to be tossed down when it most serves those who were never out of control. These films of Szabo start light, start fluffy, and slowly change into foreboding, evil, hopeless stories with NO optimism towards the human spirit, organized groups of humans, or Time being a teacher. They are very insightful essays on these subjects.

This film evokes powerfully the period and place in which it is set. Its plot is both interesting and intelligent. The acting is of the highest calibre; both Klaus Maria Brandauer and Gudrun Landgrebe are both world class artists. Viewers should see more German film. This is a stunning piece of work by a director of great insight and ability.