Taking Sides
Trailer · Background Material · Pictures · Official Site · Flyer [456 KB]
directed by: István Szabó
starring: Harvey Keitel, Stellan Skarsgård, Moritz Bleibtreu, Birgit Minichmayr, Ulrich Tukur,
running time: 105 minutes, Dolby Digital,
TAKING SIDES is a gripping political drama investigating the responsibility of the individual within a dictatorship.
Directed by Academy Award winner István Szabó, the film is based on a screenplay by Academy Award winner Ronald Harwood, adapted from his theatre play of the same name.
Press:
"A cleverly divisive chamber piece by Istvan Szabo"
THE TIMES WEEKEND REVIEW - No 2 in the 10 BEST FILMS list
"A dramatically compelling clash."
Stephen Holden, NEW YORK TIMES
"Illuminates brilliantly the dilemma of a great, world-renowned artist flourishing in a totalitarian regime."
Kevin Thomas, LOS ANGELES TIMES
"[Szabo's] best film in decades."
Wesley Morris, BOSTON GLOBE
"Stellan Skarsgard's deceptively low-key performance as the beleaguered musician pushes the emotional temperature to a quiet fever pitch, and raises fascinating questions about the moral predicament of cultural figures working under totalitarian regimes."
Ella Taylor, L.A. WEEKLY
Synopsis:
The true story of Wilhelm Furtwängler, arguably the most distinguished conductor of his generation, who is forced to face the American Denazification Committee. Although he is acquitted of all charges, his name remains tainted by his association with the Nazis.
After Hitler took over power in 1933, many Jewish artists were forced to leave Germany. Others went voluntarily into exile in protest. Furtwängler chose to stay. While helping to secure safe haven for many Jewish musicians, he at the same time served as one of the Nazi's foremost cultural assets.
The question of the artist's political responsibility within a totalitarian regime remains open to this day - whether to stay and serve one's own people or to leave the homeland
