Danton (1983)
Directed by Andrzej Wajda

Film Review

Danton is a joint Franco-Polish film from the distinguished Polish film director Andrzej Wajda.  The film was made in France after Wajda's studio in Poland was closed down by the Polish authorities in response to the director's sympathies for the new trade union movement, 'Solidarity'.  These political developments clearly had a profound impact on Wajda, to the extent that his film Danton says as much about the power struggles in contemporary Poland as it does about the French Revolution.

The film is based on the real-life story of Georges Danton (1759-1794), who played an important role in the revolution and who was guillotined by the state, along with many former heroes of the revolution, during Robespierre's insane purge of the 1790s.

The focus of the film is the intense political struggle between the idealists who forged the Revolution and the Nation State that claims to represent the good of the people but which has become completely corrupt and tyrannical in its attempt to justify itself.  The film achieves this sense of conflict through the spoken word, not through physical violence - with the final showdown being the frenzied verbal joust between Danton and the state prosecutors.  It is an approach which works well to some extent but, for a film of this length, with such a narrow subject, the end result appears very theatrical and stilted.  The fact that the dubbing is exceptionally poor does not help, robbing the confrontations between Danton and Robespierre of conviction.  Another possible blemish is the film's ending, which milks the horror of the guillotine executions a tad too much for a serious period drama.

Despite these faults, the film has some commendable plus points.  There is an impressive performance from Gérard Depardieu, who rants and raves like a man possessed in some scenes, whilst displaying great subtlety and cunning in others.  His co-star, the Polish actor Wojciech Pszoniak, is equally as impressive, conveying the vulnerability and internal torment of the so-called tyrant Robespierre.  In addition, the sets and costumes are top-notch for a quality drama, with some genuinely eye-opening crowd scenes.

As a piece of theatre about the French Revolution or as a comment on the political strife in Poland of the early 1980s, the film works quite well. In any event, it is somewhat more digestible than Wajda's subsequent overwrought Dostoyevsky adaptation Les Possédés (1988).

Film Synopsis

France, 1793.  The newly established French Republic is threatened both from within and without.  To prevent the Revolution from ending in ignominious failure the Committee for Public Safety, led by Maximilien Robespierre, has no option but to instigate a Reign of Terror.  Opposed to this new régime is Georges Danton, one of the leading lights of the 1789 revolution who has spent the last few years living in the country in a self-imposed exile.  He argues vociferously for an end to the terror and that France should seek to make peace treaties with her enemies rather than stoke up more trouble that will result in war.  To the masses, Danton is a hero of the Republic, but to the state officials he is a traitor to both France and the Revolution.  In the increasingly febrile mood of the time, Danton and his supporters find themselves fighting a fierce ideological battle against Robespierre and his cronies.  Unfortunately, it is Robespierre who has the power and in the end he is forced to exercise that power to give Danton what he feels he merits - a traitor's death...