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Poster for State of Siege

State of Siege

1972 · 122 min

A cool, methodical political thriller that plays like a docudrama, building quiet tension through interrogation and procedure rather than action.

Tagline
Any resemblance to actual events or to anyone living or dead is not accidental.
Overview
Assigned to South America, US official Philip Michael Santore is employed by a counterinsurgency agency. His position makes him a target for a local band of guerrillas, and, before long, Santore is kidnapped. As a prisoner, he undergoes interrogation, shedding light on the violent situation in the country. Once the insurgents are done with their questioning, they must decide whether Santore lives or dies.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 3 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • politics
  • power
  • corruption
  • violence
  • justice
Places
  • big city
  • single country house
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
  • true story
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror1
Humour1
Realism9
Romance0
Tension8
Darkness7
Complexity7
Emotional weight7

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
thriller, drama
Directed by
Costa-Gavras
Written by
Franco Solinas
Starring
Yves Montand, Renato Salvatori, O.E. Hasse, Jacques Weber, Jean-Luc Bideau, Maurice Teynac, Yvette Etiévant, Gloria Laso
Music
Míkis Theodorakis
Cinematography
Pierre-William Glenn
Runtime
122 min
Country
France, Germany, Italy
Languages
German, English, Spanish, French

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