A Duel with a Demon: On István Szabó’s “Mephisto”
Abstract
Zielińska writes about various versions of Faustian myth rooted in European culture. She focuses her reflections on István Szabó’s film Mephisto, based on Klaus Mann’s novel of the same title. Zielińska points out the dual meanings of Szabó’s film and the main hero who is both Faust and Mephistopheles. In a broader context the film is a reflection on connections between art and politics in a totalitarian regime, and a story about price one has to pay for servility towards people in power. Zielińska also writes about the limits of artist’s freedom, moral and ethical responsibility, and first of all about the essence of acting. She puts emphasis on the way the leading role is developed by Brandauer, which lends the film a self-thematic quality.
Keywords:
devil, István Szabó, FaustReferences
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Authors
Anna Zielińskakwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Poland
Absolwentka polonistyki Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu.
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Copyright (c) 2002 Anna Zielińska
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