State of Siege

Audience Reviews

View More

Henry D @Henry_Domke Jul 30 A very serious and overtly political film, neither of which is usually what I look for in a movie, so I rated it down. It often felt more like a political documentary than a drama, with little character development and no humor to relieve the somber tone. I was struck by the unusually large number of scenes involving battered old American cars, which helped establish the setting and period. Several wide and aerial shots also strengthened the sense that the story was unfolding in a real place rather than on constructed sets. The restored print was quite good overall, although the brightest whites sometimes had a slight blue tint. See more spanta2ra T @RT44468764 12/10/2024 Critique of "State of Siege" (1972): Sloganeering and Formal Bias The 1972 film State of Siege, while attempting to depict a crisis within the political and social landscape of its time, suffers from numerous structural and conceptual shortcomings. Its character development is excessively shallow and clichéd, with characters defined more by lifeless, slogan-like dialogues than by dramatic actions. This approach prevents the audience from forming a deep emotional connection with the characters, leaving the story devoid of human and psychological complexity. In terms of narrative, the film relies too heavily on dialogue and fails to provide a deeper analysis of the socio-political situations it seeks to portray. It appears that the filmmaker, instead of weaving a multilayered story, aimed to convey a specific message in a direct and unsubtle manner. This approach not only diminishes the film's impact but also renders many scenes artificial and unconvincing. One of the film's noteworthy formal elements is its visual depiction of murder scenes. In these moments, the victims are often shown in long or medium-long shots, while the perpetrators are captured in close-ups. This stylistic choice could reflect the filmmaker's inclination toward empathy with the killers or, at the very least, a focus on their motivations and circumstances. Such a portrayal pushes the victims into the background, placing the killers at the forefront of attention. This technique invites various interpretations regarding the filmmaker's political and ideological leanings. Nevertheless, the lack of balance in the depiction of these scenes and the absence of comprehensive analysis prevent the film from presenting a clear and convincing stance on violence and power. Ultimately, State of Siege is a film that, due to its sloganeering and weaknesses in dramatic structure, fails to achieve lasting resonance. Instead, it serves primarily as a historical document reflecting the political cinema trends of the 1970s. See more acsdoug D @acsdoug 02/29/2024 Purveys the tired leftist trope that a handful of Americans can show up and take a country of millions of people where it doesn't want to go. it wasn't true then, it isn't true now, and it is incredibly insulting to the citizens of those countries. Still, a good story could be told from that viewpoint - Oliver Stone's "Salvador" is a an excellent film. This film, however, lacks nuance, all the members of the government are evil incarnate. It makes for a rather dull two hours. See more 11/28/2016 Loved it! Such a great dramatic history of covert US interference in repressive puppet regimes of South America See more 09/20/2016 State of Siege has the usual rhythm of any other Gavras affair, but fails in comparison to Z and The Confession for its emotional nakedness and considerable lack of tension in comparison. See more 12/17/2015 Neatly put together from realistic events. Another great political thriller, in the vein of corrupted government and the revolutionare "spanish" coffee terrorists. See more Read all reviews

State of Siege

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING