Danton

Gerard Depardieu at his best, as a grizzled revolutionary, is simply fantastic. If you don't like political dramas with a lot of conversation, Danton might not be for you. The rest of us will appreciate an interesting behind-the-scenes look at an important stage in French history, when the revolution began to devour its children and the main leaders of the movement were gradually guillotined through political intrigue. A very enlightening watch that makes you realise that people don't change and politicking and dirty tricks are immortal. (24/08/2003)

The same theater play was used in Hungary for the television film A Danton-ügy (1978). Now Wajda focused on two great acting solos by Gérard Depardieu and Wojciech Pszoniak to convey the critical events in the 2nd year of the young revolutionary French Republic. He uncovered the mechanism that led to the destruction of one of the darlings of the people, the founders of the revolution itself. The only thing lacking is a definitive end to the life of Robespierre, who was encountered during the Thermidorian Reaction. But Wajda doesn't bother with this and as an artistic device he chooses to frame the Danton case through the memorization of the articles of the new constitution by an unsuspecting child. It's chilling how quickly those ideals took hold. (02/01/2012)