No matter what kind of stand you take to the subject and the story, no matter what you may think of its political arguments, you have to admit that this is a bloody good story and made extremely well on film. It was the main actor's first film (Oleg Strizhenov), his wife plays the leading lady, and the cardinal (Nicolai Simonov) completes a splendid cast, where all the other actors as well add to the unforgettable qualities of this film, which is both extremely dramatic, human, romantic and pathetic. The music score has received timeless acclaim, and what a marvellous idea to use Bach's final chorus of the great B minor mass for the cathedral scene! It's important to remember, that Ethel Voynich, the author, was Irish and Catholic, and the main subject of the story is the protagonist's conflict with the church, due a betrayal of the seal of confession - you couldn't commit a worse crime in the Catholic church as a priest than to break the holy obligation of silence of the confession. This is what the protagonsit is subject to, which leads to his lifelong hopeless revolutionary activity with intentional self-destruction. The film does not engage much in this discussion, it is more superficial in that aspect, which is compenated by its terrific cinematographical beauty and the superb acting. In brief, it's a great film on a great story.
Review of The Gadfly
