Circle of Deceit
1981, 118mins
Introduction by the director Free Culture Night Screening
Volker Schlöndorff retrospective
Lebanon is a country that has held a particular place in many Irish people’s hearts, not least because of our Defence Forces’ peacekeeping role in the country, due to end this year.
Volker Schlöndorff’s 1981 film is set in Beirut against the backdrop of Civil War and deteriorating circumstances for the city’s large Palestinian refugee population. Georg (Bruno Ganz) is a German journalist posted to the city, leaving behind his young family and a failing marriage. He quickly feels at odds with the foreign media pack, but compatriot embassy worker Arianna (Hanna Schygulla) has her feet on the ground. The film which shines a light on western media attitudes to the region resonates through the decades. As Georg becomes increasingly unmoored, the film raises questions of media objectivity in a war setting and the brutalising effect of violence on the observer.
Volker Schlöndorff adapted Nicolas Born’s novel with – among others – Margaretta von Trotta - and brought together stars of German cinema in Hanna Schygulla and Bruno Ganz in the lead (who audiences will remember playing the Hitler role in Downfall).
Director in Attendance