"Danton" by Andrzej Wajda at CSUN

Tonight at CSUN we saw "Danton" by Andrzej Wajda, a tremendous film about the power struggle within the leadership of the French Revolution, between Maximilien Robespierre and the lesser known (to the American public) Georges Danton. I remember learning about Robespierre in Junior High, probably in 8th grade. His name became synonymous with a "people's revolutionary" who ultimately becomes a dictator with policies just as severe as the predecessor he overthrew. Robespierre had been formerly held in high regard by people of the extreme Left, who must have ignored the fact that he was a strong advocate of the guillotine, chopping heads off right and left of anyone he felt threatened by.

In the movie, he is at odds with Danton, his co-Revolutionary who has exiled himself from the new people's government because he doesn't like the continuing bloodshed. Robespierre sees a need to continue to execute anyone he deems subversive, but Danton sees, more correctly, that their Revolution has become just as capricious and bloodthirsty as the Monarchy of Marie Antoinette, she of "let them eat cake" fame. Robespierre created something called "The Reign Of Terror" as an official policy. He believed that terrorism was necessary to create an ideal, egalitarian  society. The terror was directed initially at the Monarchy, but then - as always happens - Robespierre became power mad and started going after people in his own regime.

As far as most history books are concerned, Robespierre was the face of the French Revolution. So it is interesting that the filmmaker Wajda decided, in 1983, to make a movie about another man who was also a force but who is relatively unknown to history, Georges Danton.

Wajda makes movies in many styles, as I've mentioned, but he is noted for his political epics, and one theme that shines through all of these stories is that power corrupts, or more precisely, the desire for power corrupts.

Wajda is a level headed man of intelligence, and not an ideologue, so he is my kind of guy.

The old saying, "absolute power corrupts, absolutely", assumes that anyone at all who attains a position of high authority is going to "go bad", even if the person had compassionate ideals to begin with. The saying assumes that everyone is not only corruptible, but that anyone in a total power position will for certain be corrupted.

I have always thought that saying was a bunch of B.S., and I am glad to see that Wajda agrees with me.

For it is not power - all by itself - that corrupts, anymore than it is money, all by itself, that is the root of all evil.

No, it is the desire for power that corrupts, the desire to tell everyone else what is right, and to be in a position to enforce one's beliefs over other people.

This is why the politics of the Far Left are just as bad as those of the Far Right, because both have a dictatorial basis, led by a person or a faction who want to tell you how you have to live.

Andrzej Wajda, coming from Poland, got this. That is why it is instructive that he made a movie called "Danton" instead of "Robespierre".

Danton believed that sometimes revolution is necessary (under extreme conditions) but he also believed that after the oppressive regime has been overthrown, that the general public does not want their lives to be dominated by politics and violence any longer. As he says in the movie, "people just want to live in peace".

That attitude, of course, was not to be tolerated. Dictators and terrorists are all the same, and when you scratch a revolutionary, you usually find one of the two - or both - underneath. No matter if they are right wing or left. That's why I am apolitical these days. I have no ideology other than I am Anti A-Hole.

"Danton" stars Gerard Depardieu in a fantastic performance in the lead role. If you have a good memory you might recall that a long time ago I gave you a correct pronunciation of his name, written phonetically. As with my translations of British pronunciations, I offered the Depardieu in my ongoing effort to preserve accuracy in both grammar and diction.

Just in case you missed it at the time, I will re-post it now for your convenience. You may study it at your leisure.

Therefore, Gerard Depardieu = Zshair-arrd Dep-arr-Dyuh.

You'll get the hang of it after a few repeats.

Two Big Thumbs Up for "Danton", another Wajda epic and historical drama that in this case involves the inside story of the French Revolution, which took place not long after the American Revolution.

See you in the morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)