Circle of Deceit

Bruno Ganz plays a West German journalist whose frequent assignments to war-torn nations have left him jaundiced. He is assigned to cover the civil war in Beirut. The combination of his harrowing experiences on the job and his after-hours relationship with widow Hannah Schygulla affects Ganz deeply, in spite of the wall he’s built around himself. He suffers a crisis of conscience when he is forced to commit himself to someone–and something–for the first time in his life. The plot of Circle of Deceit was based on the reminiscences of novelist Nicolas Born; the picture’s realism is grotesquely enhanced by the decision to film on location in Beirut, surrounding the actors with genuine wartime carnage–bodies and all. Originally titled Die Falschung, Circle of Deceit is not a comfortable experience, but few will stop watching once the film has started., Volker Schlondorff’s vivid portrait of war-ravaged Beirut. Georg: Bruno Ganz. Ariane: Hanna Schygulla. Rudnik: Jean Carmet. Hoffmann: Jerzy Skolimowski. Greta: Gila von Weitershausen. Filmed on location.