''Colonel Redl'' ( (original title); ) is a 1985

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by Hungarian director

István Szabó István Szabó (; born 18 February 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director. Szabó is one of the most notable Hungary, Hungarian filmmakers and one who has been best known outside the Hungarian language, Hungarian- ...

. The plot, set in the period before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, follows the rise of Alfred Redl, an officer in the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. Redl, who comes from a humble background, enters military school as a boy and an illustrious military career comes his way by virtue of his loyalty to the crown. He is appointed the head of an intelligence-gathering unit, but his attraction to men eventually causes his downfall. The screenplay, loosely inspired by British playwright

John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, and entrepreneur, who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in post-war theatre. Born in London, he briefly worked as a jo ...

's play '' A Patriot for Me'', charts the rise of inter-ethnic tensions in Austro-Hungary, which were to bring about the assassination in

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and the empire's eventual disintegration. The film stars Klaus Maria Brandauer, Jan Niklas and Gudrun Landgrebe. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film and won the Jury Prize at

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

in 1985.

Plot

Alfred Redl, a Ruthenian boy from Galicia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, wins an appointment to a prestigious military academy in spite of being the son of a mere peasant farmer. At his departure from home, his mother instils in him eternal gratitude towards Emperor Franz Josef. Redl is never to forget that he owes his promising career to the Emperor. At the military academy, the young Redl is punished along with a fellow cadet, Kristof Kubinyi, when the latter's wooden lance breaks as they are practicing fighting; as they are beaten while running the gauntlet, they put their arms around each other's bare shoulders. Redl soon stands out for his talent, drive and loyalty to the Crown. When one of his teachers demands that he say who played a practical joke, he at first refuses, but when the teacher says that if he stays silent Kubinyi will be expelled, he names a different student; whilst he blames himself for incriminating his comrade, Alfred soon realises that to rise in the ranks he must overcome his peasant background by ingratiating himself with his superiors. Alfred and Kristof become firm friends, and Kristof invites Redl home for the holidays to the elegant residence of his parents, who lead a life of privilege and nobility in Hungary. There, Alfred meets Kristof's pretty sister, Katalin, who welcomes him warmly. To Kubinyi's aristocratic parents, Redl hides his true humble background, pretending to be of Hungarian ancestry and a member from an old family who lost all its fortune. Redl and Kubinyi slowly climb the ladder as career officers. Once they become adults, the two friends have different political ideals. As a Hungarian, Kubinyi slowly falls prey to the national aspirations of a Hungary free from

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

rule, while Redl remains fiercely patriotic and faithful to his benefactor, the Austrian Emperor. For Redl, his relationship with Kubinyi goes beyond friendship as Redl harbors an unrequited love for his comrade. When the two young men visit a brothel, Redl seems more interested in watching his friend having sex than in engaging a woman in his own room. Redl suppresses his attraction to Kristof, however, and transfers it, as best as he can, to Katalin, his friend's beautiful married sister. Back at the academy, Alfred serves as a second in a duel between Kristof and another classmate, who is killed in the contest. This foolishness jeopardizes the careers of both Kubinyi and Redl, but the commanding officer, Colonel von Roden, having noted Redl's hard work and loyalty to the Emperor, arranges a promotion for him and a prized assignment in Vienna. In Vienna, Redl is able to renew his friendship with Katalin, who is, by then, unhappily married. They become lovers in spite of Katalin knowing well that it is her brother who Alfred really loves. Redl is assigned to a garrison serving on the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

border. The discipline there is lax and Redl readily stands out as a serious-minded young officer. When the district commander decides to retire, Redl is recommended for the position. As commanding officer, he proves very demanding, working hard to reinvigorate the discipline of his outfit. This does not sit well with the junior officers, including Kristof, especially because they feel superior to Redl by birth. When Redl and Kristof have a falling out over Kristof's sloppy habits and poor performance, Kristof mocks Redl's lowly origins in conversation with other officers. Colonel von Roden intervenes on Redl's behalf again, bringing him back to Vienna to serve as deputy chief of the counter-espionage branch of the Evidenzbureau. It's a nasty job, since it entails spying on officers throughout the Austro-Hungarian Army, trying to identify those engaging in espionage activities. On Katalin's suggestion, Redl undertakes a loveless marriage of convenience in order to quell rumors of his homosexual proclivities. His wife, Clarissa, suffers from ill health and remains a distant figure in his life. Redl's single-minded devotion to duty draws him into the orbit of the Crown Prince, who is a ruthless schemer whose ultimate objective is portrayed as to overthrow the Emperor in a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

. (This character is often assumed to be the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, but he is not named, and he is not biographically identical with any of the real archdukes; his politics "most closely resemble those of the deceased Rudolf.Katharine Arens, "Central Europe's Catastrophes on Film: The Case of István Szabó" in ''History of the Literary Cultures of East-Central Europe: Junctures and disjunctures in the 19th and 20th centuries'', Vol. 1 (John Benjamins Publishing, 2004; ISBN 9789027295538), p. 553.) Redl participates in one of the Crown Prince's plots, which involves setting up an aging Ukrainian officer for a dramatic fall so as to shake the army out of its complacency. The man is accidentally shot to death, however, during the search and seizure, negating the value of the plan. The Crown Prince then decides to make Redl the fall guy instead. Redl contributes to his own downfall by allowing himself to be seduced by an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

officer and giving him military secrets to be passed to the Russians. The doomed Redl is arrested. It falls upon Kristof to provide him with a service pistol and order him to commit suicide. After experiencing anger, hesitation and despair, Redl finally shoots himself. The film ends with a brief depiction of the

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of the Archduke at

and the beginning of

Cast

* Klaus Maria Brandauer as Colonel Alfred Redl * Hans Christian Blech as Major General Von Roden *

Armin Mueller-Stahl Armin Mueller-Stahl (born 17 December 1930) is a retired German actor who also appeared in numerous English-language films since the 1980s. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''Shine (1996 film), Sh ...

as the Crown Prince * Gudrun Landgrebe as Katalin * Jan Niklas as Colonel Kristóf Kubinyi * László Mensáros as Colonel Ruzitska * András Bálint as Captain Dr. Gustav Sonnenschein * László Gálffi as Alfredo Velocchio * Dorottya Udvaros as Clarissa * Károly Eperjes as Lieutenant Jaromil Schorm * Róbert Rátonyi as Baron Ullmann * Flóra Kádár as Redl's sister

Accuracy

The film takes various liberties with history. Redl is said to be a Ruthenian, while in fact his family was of

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origin. Redl is shown as coming from a poor family. In fact, he came from a middle-class background, as his father was a senior employee of the railways. Redl's sister is shown as a poor illiterate peasant woman; in actuality, she was a school-teacher. The Crown Prince's supposed plot against Redl is fictional. Redl was homosexual; however, he was not forced into suicide directly because of this. In fact, he was a spy in the pay of the Imperial Russian government, who had blackmailed him over his homosexuality. When Redl's treachery was uncovered, he was encouraged to commit suicide.

Awards

The film won the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

, but lost to ''

The Official Story ''The Official Story'' () is a 1985 Argentine historical political drama film directed by Luis Puenzo and written by Puenzo and Aída Bortnik. It stars Norma Aleandro, Héctor Alterio, Chunchuna Villafañe and Hugo Arana. In the United Kingd ...

''. It won the Jury Prize at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival.

References

External links