State of Siege | ةtat de siège (1972)

Synopsis

Assigned to work in South America, United States official Philip Michael Santore (Yves Montand) is employed by an agency involved in counterinsurgency tactics.

Santore's position makes him a target for a local band of guerrillas, and, before long, he is kidnapped.

As a prisoner, Santore undergoes interrogation, shedding light on the violent situation in the country. Once the insurgents are done with their questioning, they must decide whether Santore lives or dies.



Cast: Yves Montand, Renato Salvatori, O. E. Hasse, Jacques Weber, Jean-Luc Bideau, Maurice Teynac, Yvette Etiévant ,Evangeline Peterson, Harald Wolff, Nemesio Antúnez, Mario Montilles, André Falcon, Jacques Perrin, Juan Guzmán Tapia


State of Siege became the subject of controversial discussions upon its US release. While liberal critics supported the film, it was attacked by conservative commentators for falsely indicting the US (Smith Hempstone) and presenting a "profoundly fraudulent" portrait of Mitrione (Ernest W. Lefever).

A planned screening during a festival organised by the American Film Institute in the John F. Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., in April 1973, was cancelled by the AFI's director George Stevens, arguing that the film "rationalizes an act of political assassination".

Protesting Stevens' decision, twelve filmmakers withdrew their films from the festival, including François Truffaut. John F. Kennedy's former staff member Theodore Sorenson defended State of Siege as a simplistic but "important work" in an article in the New York Times.

Read about this film

Country: Italy | West Germany
Language: French | English
Color: France | Italy | West Germany
Runtime: 120 min.