''State of Siege'' () is a 1972 French–Italian–West German political

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by

Costa-Gavras Konstantinos "Kostas" Gavras (; born 12 February 1933), known professionally as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for political films, such as the political thril ...

starring Yves Montand and Renato Salvatori. The story is based on an actual incident in 1970, when U.S. official Dan Mitrione was kidnapped and later killed by an urban guerrilla group in

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

Plot

Philip Michael Santore, an official of the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...

, is found shot in a car after an extensive raid by police and military forces. In a flashback which takes up almost the entire film, ''State of Siege'' tells of his kidnapping by the Tupamaro guerrilla group, whose members confront him with his involvement in the training of the Uruguayan, Brazilian, and Dominican police, including interrogation techniques and torture to be used on opponents of the authoritarian regime. The Tupamaros demand the release of all political prisoners from the government in exchange for Santore, but the government declines. When a large number of the group's members are arrested, the remaining fraction decides to kill their hostage. The final scene shows the arrival of a new U.S. official to replace Santore.

Cast

* Yves Montand as Philip Michael Santore * Renato Salvatori as Captain Lopez * O. E. Hasse as Carlos Ducas * Jacques Weber as Hugo * Jean-Luc Bideau as Este * Maurice Teynac as Minister of Internal Security * Yvette Etiévant as Woman Senator * Evangeline Peterson as Mrs. Santore * Harald Wolff as Minister of Foreign Affairs * Nemesio Antúnez as President Jorge Pacheco Areco * Mario Montilles as Assistant Commissioner Fontant *

André Falcon André Falcon (28 November 1924 – 22 July 2009) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1954 to 2008. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Falcon, Andre 1924 births 2009 deaths ...

as Deputy Fabbri * Jacques Perrin as Telephone operator * Juan Guzmán Tapia as Journalist (uncredited)

Production

Though the setting of ''State of Siege'' is never explicitly named, signages throughout the film refer to

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, and the Tupamaros are mentioned by name. Costa-Gavras, living in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

at the time and preparing his film '' The Confession'', had learned of Mitrione's case in French newspaper ''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

'' and decided to make further investigations in Uruguay himself, accompanied by screenwriter Franco Solinas ('' The Battle of Algiers''). The film was shot in Chile during the brief

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...

rule of Salvador Allende, just before the

1973 Chilean coup d'état The 1973 Chilean coup d'état () was a military overthrow of the democratic socialist president of Chile Salvador Allende and his Popular Unity (Chile), Popular Unity coalition government. Allende, who has been described as the first Marxist ...

, which Costa-Gavras would dramatise in his later film '' Missing''. Although Allende supported Costa-Gavras' project, the director faced opposition both from Chilean Communist Party members and the conservative mayor of Santiago Province commune Las Condes during filming. The role of the government's president is played by Chilean painter Nemesio Antúnez.

Release and reception in the US

''State of Siege'' became the subject of controversial discussions upon its US release. Smith Hempstone claimed the film falsely indicted the US and Ernest W. Lefever wrote that it presented a "profoundly fraudulent" portrait of Mitrione. A planned screening during a festival organised by the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

in the John F. Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., in April 1973, was cancelled by the AFI's director

George Stevens George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''A Place in the Sun (1951 film), A Place in the Sun'' (1951) ...

, who argued that the film "rationalizes an act of political assassination". Protesting Stevens' decision, twelve filmmakers, including

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...

, withdrew their films from the festival. Writing in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', John F. Kennedy's former staff member Theodore Sorenson described ''State of Siege'' as a simplistic but "important film", which he hoped would awaken viewers from their "slumbering indifference" to Latin America.

Awards

* Prix Louis-Delluc 1972

References

External links

* {{Costa-Gavras 1972 films 1970s political thriller films French political thriller films Italian political thriller films West German films German political thriller films 1970s French-language films Films directed by Costa Gavras Films about Latin American military dictatorships Louis Delluc Prize winners Films set in 1970 Films set in Uruguay Films set in Montevideo Films shot in Chile Films scored by Mikis Theodorakis Tupamaros Guerrilla warfare in film 1970s Italian films 1970s French films 1970s German films