MovieChat Forums > Oberst Redl (1985) Discussion > Semi-autobiographical ?

Semi-autobiographical ?

posted 13 years ago by ltarex
2 replies | jump to latest

At the time this film was made of course noone knew, but now it's clear that István Szabó was an agent (III/III) of the Ministry of Interior during his university days. And most such civilian agents were blackmailed into becoming secret servants of the Communist state and write reports on the activities of their friends and colleagues. And in Hungary everyone knows that Szabó is a closet homosexual. Maybe that was the secret fact they used to blackmail him. So, a closet homosexual blackmailed into becoming an agent he makes a film about a closet homosexual blackmailed into becoming an agent. Coincidence?

"A voice from behind me reminds me. Spread out your wings you are an angel."

[–] deeveed 13 years ago

Perhaps. You know, as a director, I think Szabo has made some important movies that mine the problems of individuals trying to fit in a morally dubious world. All his experiences living in that part of the world (Central Europe) I'm sure has helped to give him a very good understanding of the terrible decisions that were made and the consequences of those decisions. He's a great European director.

[–] henrimaine 11 years ago

Szabo was himself an infomant - that's an interesting piece of information (and confirmed by Wikipedia). Your second revelation - "in Hungary everyone knows that Szabo is a closet homosexual" - is a bit odd. How can "everyone" know that someone is a "closet" homosexual? But well, neither of these issues does any damage to his movies.