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The Defector

1966 · 100 min

A somber, moody Cold War thriller that unfolds slowly, with a weary tension and a sense of quiet desperation.

Directed by
Raoul Lévy
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Starring
Montgomery Clift, Hardy Krüger, Macha Méril
Overview
An American scientist is sent by the CIA to East Germany to retrieve a secret microfilm from a Soviet scientist interested in defecting to the West but the Stasi secret police's surveillance complicates matters.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Raoul Lévy
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Starring
Montgomery Clift, Hardy Krüger, Macha Méril
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • betrayal
  • isolation
  • conspiracy
  • morality
  • survival
Places
  • big city
  • single country house
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror1
Humour1
Realism7
Romance2
Tension6
Darkness6
Complexity5
Emotional weight6

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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
drama, thriller
Directed by
Raoul Lévy
Written by
Raoul Lévy, Robert Guenette
Starring
Montgomery Clift, Hardy Krüger, Macha Méril, David Opatoshu, Christine Delaroche, Hannes Messemer, Karl Lieffen, Uta Levka
Music
Serge Gainsbourg
Cinematography
Raoul Coutard
Runtime
100 min
Country
France, Germany
Languages
English, German

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