Circle of Deceit (1981 film)
Circle of Deceit is an anti-war film directed by Volker Schlöndorff and internationally released in 1981. An international co-production, it was an adaptation of Nicolas Born's novel The Deception, which had appeared in 1979. The film follows a German journalist sent to Beirut to report on the Lebanese Civil War, which had begun in 1975.
Cast
- Bruno Ganz as Georg Laschen
- Hanna Schygulla as Ariane Nassar
- Jerzy Skolimowski as Hoffmann
- Jean Carmet as Rudnik
- Gila von Weitershausen as Greta Laschen
- Khaled El Sayed as Progressive Officer
Plot
Journalist Georg Laschen is sent to Beirut to report on the Lebanese civil war. His feelings about this mission are influenced by the dysfunctionality of his marriage to the unfaithful Greta, who resents his frequent absences for war reporting and remains in Germany with their young children, and his lack of understanding of the conflict.He feels that his opinions and lack of understanding of events and their background are not respected by his editors because any conflict interests the public. Consequently, he feels that his reports are not real journalism and pretending that they are is deceitful.
After an affair with a local named Arianna, he happens to kill a man. He realises how relatively easily one's moral standards can be corrupted in a violent environment and how hard or even impossible it is to remain unbiased as a journalist.