Danton

Movie Information

In Brief: Andrej Wajda tackles the story of the last political battle between French Revolution titans Danton and Robespierre in a persuasive and involving drama about government machinations to destroy one man who has become inconvenient. Gérard Depardieu gives what is perhaps the performance of his career in this intelligent, compelling and entertaining film.
Score:

Genre: Historical Drama
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Starring: Gérard Depardieu, Wojciech Pszoniak, Anne Alvaro, Roland Blanche, Patrice Chéreau
Rated: PG

Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda’s historical drama about the final showdown between two key figures of the French Revolution — Danton (Gérard Depardieu) and Robespierre (Wojciech Pszoniak) — eschews historical pageantry in favor of a more intimate approach. Danton (1983) — made while the director was living briefly in France — is very close to being a great film. It is compromised by being both overlit and by Wajda’s insistence on casting Polish actor Wojciech Pszoniak as Robespierre, necessitating his dialogue to be distractingly dubbed by a French actor. (There are other dubbed Polish actors in the film, but none so up close and personal as Pszoniak.) Still, the film is amazingly vibrant and compelling. Gérard Depardieu’s Danton is one of the actor’s best performances — a careful balancing act between buffoonish clown and a deeply concerned champion of the people against Robespierre’s Reign of Terror. It’s a role that fits Depardieu as few have done. At the film’s center is Danton’s trial — a put-up job with an inevitable outcome — and it’s one of the best such depictions of a trial ever put on film. In many ways, it clearly draws from Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971) — even to the hair-cutting scene (that isn’t carried as far) and a dissonant musical score by Jean Prodromidès that recalls Peter Maxwell Davies’ unsettling score for Russell’s film. Wajda’s film is ultimately less shattering, but it is undeniably powerful. Catch this one.

Classic World Cinema by Courtyard Gallery will present Danton Friday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. at Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts St., River Arts District, upstairs in the Railroad Library).  Info: 273-3332, www.ashevillecourtyard.com

SHARE
About Ken Hanke
Head film critic for Mountain Xpress from December 2000 until his death in June 2016. Author of books "Ken Russell's Films," "Charlie Chan at the Movies," "A Critical Guide to Horror Film Series," "Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker."

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.