Review of The Confession

Costa Gavras followed up his greatest critical and commercial success, "Z", with this initially confusing but ultimately illuminating political drama (which predates, and resembles more than a little, both "Papillon" and "Midnight Express"). Occasionally it can be just as exhausting for the viewer as it is for Yves Montand's character; Gavras reaches into a whole bag of cinematic tricks, but cannot quite camouflage the repetitive nature of the story; on the whole, however, "The Confession" is a powerful, sad, enraging experience. Although some viewers who still believe in the socialist ideals are bound to hate it for what it exposes, it's still the work of a genuine socialist who grieves over what became of Lenin's revolution in Stalin's (and his successors') hands. Or, as the young Czechs' graffiti on the wall in the final shot says, "Lenin, wake up! They've gone crazy". *** out of 4.