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Mephisto



cast :

Klaus Maria Brandauer, Krystyna Janda, Peter Andorai, Karin Boyd, Rolf Hoppe, Gyorgy Cserhalmi

crew :

Directed by: Istavn Szabo
Written by: Peter Dobai
Produced by: Manfred Duriok
DOP: Lajos Koltai
Editor: Zsuzsa Csakany
Music Score by: Zdenko Tamassy

release date :

1981

Istvan Szabo's adaptation of Klaus Mann's semi-biographical novel recounts the rise to greatness of Hendrik Hoefgen (Klaus Maria Brandauer), Nazi Germany's greatest actor and the fictionalised embodiment of Mann's notorious brother-in-law Gustaf Gründgens. Aided by marrying into an influential family, Hendrik Hoefgen transforms himself from a provincial Hamburg actor trying to rid the stage of “bourgeois rubbish” into the star of the Berlin State Theatre. His performance as Mephistopheles in a production of Goethe's Faust wins him both the heart of the nation and the patronage of the National Socialist Prime Minister. As the path to unlimited success opens up before him Hendrik Hoefgen soon abandons his former ideals and friends, but ultimately, he is unable to avoiding paying the price for his betrayal, and at the peak of his sycophancy Hendrik Hoefgen realises that he has become an nothing more than a government puppet.


As the title suggests, the role of the Faustian myth in Hoefgen's career is central for any understanding ‘Mephisto’, the protagonist's multi-layered relationship to both Faust and the devil mirrors the carefully constructed layers of meaning within the film as a whole. Though Hendrik Hoefgen takes on the guise of Mephisto in the theatre, his role in the film's narrative is that of Faust. In his pursuit of success Hendrik Hoefgen forsakes his Bolshevik ideologies as well as numerous love interests that prove inconvenient, including a beautiful black woman, Juliette (Karin Boyd), and his intellectual wife, Barbara (Krystyna Janda). At all times he is fully cognisant of the horror of the unfolding situation in Germany, and yet he co-operates with the Nazi regime out of pure self-interest, eventually standing by as his best friend is killed. These are the terms of his own diabolical pact.


What complicates this is that the deal is consummated when Hendrik Hoefgen takes on the embodiment of the devil, blurring the boundaries between the characters. Whereas Goethe's hero was targeted by Mephisto's scheme, Hendrik Hoefgen courted it. By consciously identifying himself as a corruptive force, he reveals himself to be delusional with an over inflated conception of his own capabilities, and most pertinently, of the extent to which he controls his own destiny. At the start of the film Hendrik Hoefgen is fairly morally ambiguous – he is obviously self-involved and opportunist, yet he demonstrates considerable passion in his involvement with the theatre, particularly the political theatre he labours over with his friend Otto (Péter Andorai). However, as his fame increases on a parallel with the increasing stranglehold of the Nazis, the benevolent aspects of his personality become less and less evident whilst his greed becomes more and more calculated. As he claims, he has been preparing for the role of Mephisto the manipulator all his life, and he has still ended up as Faust the manipulated. As a result, he cuts a pitiable figure, and this effect is made even greater by the presence of the truly devilish puppet master in the form of a thinly disguised Hans Goring, known in the film as the General.


Hendrik Hoefgen first meets the General when he is invited up to his private box at the end of the début of his Faust reprisal. Every shot of the scene serves to illustrate the parallel between the two men: as Hendrik Hoefgen's face looks down, the General's looks back up, perfectly mirroring the devil's mask with a devil's gaze. The actor's diabolical power is nothing but a costume, and as such the real devil figure the General sees through him immediately. Though Hendrik Hoefgen holds a dominating stance by leaning over him and even goes so far as to playfully engulf him in his cape, it is nothing more than a theatrical pose. As the General summarises, “the secret of acting is to portray strength, though one is weak.” He instantly sees Hendrik Hoefgen's pretence for what it is and intuits his aspirations and the lengths he is prepared to go to for them. A tacit agreement seems to take place and the rest of the audience watches in awed silence as the two devils shake hands, and thereby witnesses Hendrik Hoefgen's transformation from Mephistopheles into Faust.


This moment is the turning point in the film; Hendrik Hoefgen is no longer his own master. Prior to his meeting with the General, Hendrik Hoefgen controls his own destiny by a mixture of manipulation and enterprise. After the meeting, however, he begins acting under instruction rather than his own initiative, and his once fiery individualism gets channelled into vacuous pro-Nazi rhetoric. Having finally secured his position as Germany's leading actor, he dutifully uses his limelight to promote the National Socialist cause, or as Juliette describes it “being a well-behaved boy who likes to be rewarded for good behaviour.” The extent of his sacrifices is revealed gradually, and at first he even has some leeway to barter, ensuring that Juliette is taken to France unharmed. He fails to comprehend the wider consequences of his actions, commenting to himself “Freedom? What for?” Though he temporarily succeeds in rescuing several people from Nazi internment, including his friend Otto from political exile, when Otto is later killed, he fails to react and remains as submissive as ever, and even redoubles his efforts to flatter the General by throwing a ball in his honour. His efforts to save his colleagues only extend as far as he thinks acceptable, and no further.


Hendrik Hoefgen's reversal of character is further emphasised by another mirrored relationship with the figure of Hans Miklas (György Cserhalmi). Hendrik Hoefgen and Miklas work together in the Hamburg theatre but come to blows over Miklas's staunch support of the rising Nazi party, which Hendrik Hoefgen ridicules. When they meet again in Berlin, the two have effectively swapped roles, with Hendrik Hoefgen now playing the part of the political sycophant and Miklas that of the subversive. As the two actors rehearse Faust together Miklas supplicates Hendrik Hoefgen, begging to become his student and partake of his wisdom. Hendrik Hoefgen, as Mephisto, advises him that “he who grasps every chance is a great man”, a clear reference to the flourishing advancement of his career in comparison to that of Miklas. In this scene Hendrik Hoefgen teaches him the art of seduction, the importance of which Miklas failed to understand during both his period of earnest Nazi support and equally earnest Nazi abhorrence, ultimately resulting in his death. The conflict between the characters is finally and tragically resolved when Hendrik Hoefgen denounces Miklas to the authorities, who unflinchingly have him kidnapped and shot. This is Hendrik Hoefgen's single most despicable act, and the strongest evidence to show that his Nazi compliance is not merely passive, as that of one acting out of self-preservation, but active, as that of an opportunist.


As the narrative proceeds, the General becomes a ubiquitous presence in Hendrik Hoefgen's life, as constant reminder that he is under obligation in exchange for his success. Likewise, he can never quite purge himself of Mephisto, which is how the General mockingly refers to him as a reminder that he is nothing more than an actor playing a part. This intrusion is shown clearly in the scene of Hendrik Hoefgen's opulent second wedding which well illustrates the mechanisms of his devilish pact. Even at such a private and personal event, Hendrik Hoefgen liaises with theatre organisers who confirm that he was permitted to use such a luxurious villa as a reward for satisfactory delivery of an interview with foreign journalists. He is then subjected to an invasive visit by the General, who commands all attention as well as the musicians. The General breezes imperiously through the mansion grounds, administering his approval, and upon his departure Hendrik Hoefgen is suddenly surrounded by a group of dancing devils who whirl around him in a taunting manner wearing masks almost identical to that of his Mephisto costume. This is one of the film's more overtly lyrical moments, demonstrating how trapped Hendrik Hoefgen is and how he is unable to react to his predicament in any other way than simply smiling and dancing along.


The climax of the film takes place at the newly constructed Berlin Olympic Stadium, where the General leads Hendrik Hoefgen to the centre of pitch in the early hours of the morning. Once Hendrik Hoefgen has taken his place, he is blinded by numerous spotlights blazing a star shaped trail with him at its centre, an incandescent white body. Though Hendrik Hoefgen instinctively runs he is unable to escape the light which engulfs him. The film ends with Hendrik Hoefgen asking both himself and the camera “What do they want from me? After all, I'm only an actor.” The General has made him face up to the inevitability of his position. Hendrik Hoefgen's is only a character living out the role written for him in a great Nazi play. He has played with the Devil and lost, only to realise that he has been playing by the Devil's rules.


Szabo's ‘Mephisto’ carries a poignant message about self-deception, political compromise and artistic responsibility. This message is made all the more poignant by the relevance it has to the artists who contributed to its story. Gründgens, the original Hendrik Hoefgen, paid for his collaboration by a ninth month internment by the Soviets. Klaus Mann, Gründgens' brother-in-law and biographer, ended up committing suicide, partially because of a continued refusal on the part of publishers to release the novel ‘Mephisto’. Istvan Szabo, the director, has himself been accused of informing about his fellow students to Soviet authorities whilst at university in his native Hungary. The seductive devil within ‘Mephisto’ takes the form of the Nazi party, and yet it is a film that is less about the Nazi regime as it is about individual choice and acceptance of those decisions.


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Country: West Germany/Hungary/Austria
Budget: £
Length: 144mins


Pub/2008


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