72: Costa-Gavras: State of Siege & Missing (with Jacob Bacharach) (Patreon)

The author Jacob Bacharach returns to the pod. Following the recent JF episode on Z by Costa-Gavras, we continue to explore the work of the great Greek-French filmmaker with two of his greatest: 1972’s State of Siege, set in an unnamed Uruguay but filmed in Salvador Allende’s Chile, and 1982’s Missing, set in the unnamed Chile of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship but filmed in Mexico.

Both films are based on true stories about the executions of American citizens in South America. Both films enraged the State Department for directly implicating the United States in these deaths and the ongoing role of US Imperialism in the violent operations of Latin American military dictatorships. And importantly, both films are thrilling cinema, at once highly entertaining and politically astute.

We recorded this show on the day Premier Doug Ford declared a State of Emergency in Ontario, so Jacob and I also discuss the Trucker Convoy for Freedom… did you know that one of the tipping points for the 1973 coup d’état in Chile was an organized trucker protest?

Follow Jacob Bacharach on Twitter and visit jacobbacharach.com

Trailer for State of Siege (Costa-Gavras, 1972)

Trailer for Missing (Costa-Gavras, 1982)