Mephisto
István Szabó, 1981, 144 min

In his adaptation of Klaus Mann’s novel, István Szabó gives a fictionalized account of the rise to stardom of the actor Gustav Gründgens, perhaps the most famous “Staatsschauspieler” (State actor) of Nazi Germany. Hendrik Hoefgen (Klaus Maria Brandauer) is a passionate but struggling actor who, despite his political ambivalence, remains in Germany during the rise of the Nazi regime. When he accepts a Nazi official’s offer to make him a star, Hoefgen receives the success and adulation he has long sought – but at what price?

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Screening as part of our retrospective on István Szabó