Costa-Gavras on State of America : Director’s Film ‘Betrayed’ Covers Racism in U.S.

If they gave out Oscars for stirring up controversy, Costa-Gavras, the cinema’s most celebrated auteur provocateur , would have a crowded trophy room.

Reviled by the right, denounced by the left, the 54-year-old Greek-born French director has an unfailing knack for setting off ideological furors.

Is it any wonder? Over the last two decades he’s made political thrillers about torture in Latin America (“State of Siege”), Stalinism in Eastern Europe (“The Confession”), the overthrow of Chile’s Allende regime (“Missing”), the military takeover of Greece (“Z”) and the Palestinian conflict with Israel (“Hanna K.”).

After “The Confession” was released, a longtime friend told Costa-Gavras’ wife that he “should be hanged” for making such a “disgrace.” After “Missing” appeared, columnist George Will blasted the film as a “fraud” and “a hit ‘n’ run act of cowardice.”

Costa-Gavras’ new film, “Betrayed,” starring Debra Winger and Tom Berenger and due out Friday, has so far provoked only isolated incidents and walkouts at early screenings.

But its tale of FBI infiltration of a Midwestern paramilitary white supremacist sect is sure to spark debate, especially for its graphic portrayal of hard-working farmers as racist killers.

“I do seem to hit a nerve sometimes,” Costa-Gavras allowed, sipping a Coke at a cafe in Beverly Hills. “But you have to understand that people of my generation thought we knew the truth--the only right way. We learned the hard way that it wasn’t so easy. So when I make movies, I feel it’s absolutely important to be critical of everyone. I don’t accept anyone’s ideology automatically.”

In fact, when he shot “State of Siege” in Chile during the Allende regime, Costa-Gavras got flak from both sides. “The Chilean Army, who was very right-wing, wouldn’t let us use any of their men,” he explained. “Meanwhile, the pro-Communist actors we’d hired quit in the middle of the production, saying I was making a pro-CIA movie.”

The director offered a bemused grin. “There is always some party that wants you to sing their song, but I can’t work that way.”

Costa-Gavras is an artist whose tales crackle with emotion and moral dilemmas. In person, the director--a cheery, surprisingly self-effacing man--displays little of his films’ fervor.

“Betrayed” is his first film set in America. But after visiting here off and on for 20 years, Costa-Gavras speaks fluent, if slightly shaky, English--and has developed a genuine fondness for the country. “I remember flying into Los Angeles for the first time, many years ago, and it was magnificently spread out. And everywhere I looked there were these little blue spots. . . . “

Costa-Gavras’ eyes widened. “Swimming pools!”

As you might expect, he’s fascinated by the country’s political machinery. But he shied away from making any sweeping judgments, preferring to offer his impressions of specific events. He also happily offered comparisons between America and his adopted home of France, particularly on such topics as election campaigns, media overload and gun control.

“I was reading this morning about the intellectual background of your new Republican vice presidential candidate,” he said with an impish laugh. “He doesn’t sound like a genius to me. I have the feeling he didn’t quite get all his diplomas!

“That is one difference between us. In France, it is demanded that our politicians have a wealth of culture and intellect, though that does not prevent them from making their own blunders. But (Francois) Mitterrand is a brilliant writer, as was De Gaulle. I think the way you choose people here, with all this spectacle and media attention, perhaps limits the kind of man you can find.”

Costa-Gavras frowned. “That’s something we try to show in ‘Betrayed,’ how powerful the media have become. In Europe, we say the media in America are the third power, behind the government and the people. It has a tendency to make the most good-looking guy the winner.

“I can easily imagine your politicians rehearsing in front of the cameras. And now it’s coming to Europe. Our candidates have media advisers coming from America, telling them what colors to wear and how to talk.”

The U.S. politician who most fascinates Costa-Gavras is, aptly enough, the country’s “Great Communicator”--Ronald Reagan. “I saw him on TV at the convention and I realized how easily one could be caught up in his appeal--he’s very warm and emotional. It’s no surprise to me that people don’t necessarily agree with him, but they still like him. People use their heart when they think of him, not their brain.”

Costa-Gavras wagged his head. “It amazes me that he is still taking credit for saving Grenada from communism. I don’t mean to be rude, but you must know that even a small platoon of French gendarmes could’ve freed that country in a day!”

After the international success of “Z,” Costa-Gavras said he was sent “thousands of scripts” about political assassinations. He turned them all down. He also passed up numerous work opportunities in America, including an offer from Gulf+Western Chairman Charles Bluhdorn, who gave Costa-Gavras first crack at “The Godfather.” (Costa-Gavras said he turned him down because he didn’t understand America well enough to do justice to the script.)

Several years ago Costa-Gavras was trying to develop a film about racism in Europe. When producer Irwin Winkler asked if he would make a similar film about America, Costa-Gavras agreed. Within weeks, screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, best known for “Jagged Edge” and “Flashdance,”was at work on “Betrayed.”

For many viewers, the film’s most unsettling quality lies in its dramatization of an apparent duality in American culture. The film’s key figure, played by Tom Berenger, is both an idealistic, hard-working farmer and a vicious white supremacist.

“As an outsider, that’s what fascinates me--and confuses me--about this country,” Costa-Gavras said. “You have racism here, especially against outsiders, yet you can have a presidential candidate who is a Greek boy with a Jewish wife. You have worked so hard to fight totalitarianism and keep your democracy, yet your government supports dictators like (Chile’s) Pinochet and (ousted Nicaraguan strong man) Somoza.”

Eager to give “Betrayed” a realistic sheen, Costa-Gavras studied clandestine white-supremacist group newsletters, interviewed former members of underground sects and even uncovered footage of supremacists taking target practice, using pictures of black and Jewish world leaders as targets.

Accompanied by Berenger and Eszterhas, Costa-Gavras also made several trips to Nebraska and Montana, visiting farmers’ homes and celebrating the Fourth of July in Scottsbluff, Neb.

“Tom and I also went to the small-town bars, where we talked to everyone and drank lots of beer,” Costa-Gavras said with obvious delight. “They were very nice, hard-working people, not much different from the farmers you’d meet in the South of France. The only real difference is that they have so much machinery--all those combines and tractors. They have much more equipment than we’d ever see in Europe.”

Even though he has been an outspoken critic of the FBI in his films, Costa-Gavras got a warm reception at the Chicago FBI office, where he went to study investigative procedure. “They knew who I was,” he said, relishing the irony. “One of the agents even complimented me on my films.”

He waved an arm in the air. “I have been critical, yes. But I am not anti-FBI. You can never reject the police out of hand, as if they are all bad. I mean, if something bad happens to you, who else are you going to call?”

Though he’s been unswervingly critical of U.S. foreign policy, Costa-Gavras savors America’s enormous freedom of expression. After his years of location scouting it’s no surprise--he’s been forced to hurl most of his cinematic barbs at a distance.

“Z” was set in Greece, but filmed in Algeria. “State of Siege,” set in Uruguay, was shot in Chile. “Missing” was set in Chile, shot in Mexico. “The Confession” was set in Czechoslovakia, shot in France. . . .

“It’s true, I don’t usually get to work this close to my subject,” he said. “That’s what is so extraordinary about your country--that you have this tradition of such free speech.”

Of course that freedom cuts both ways. News travels fast here too. And Costa-Gavras seemed somewhat dismayed to find that word had spread that an early “Betrayed” screening here had been disrupted by an angry heckler.

“One lady out of 500 people and everybody knows about it already,” he said, tugging nervously on his shirt sleeve. “What can I say? I have gotten positive reaction to the movie, but I’m afraid I always remember the one bad remark.

“Still, the other preview, in Kansas City, went very well. The crowd was quiet--very silent, which I think was a good sign. In fact no one left the theater until they came around with the (preview) cards.”

Costa-Gavras laughed. “I’m afraid that broke the spell.

“Here, it was interesting. People went out for popcorn at first, but after a while nobody moved. I’m always amazed at how people in America can go out for popcorn in the middle of a movie--it’s like they’re going to the Super Bowl!”

Few box-office experts predict that “Betrayed” will attract similar hoopla. Still, as someone whose films have been denounced or banned by regimes of all political stripes, Costa-Gavras seemed pleased with the opportunity to provoke a healthy debate.

“It’s funny,” he said with a look of puzzlement. “I’m interested in politics, but I don’t really think I make political films. I think I’m more involved in ethics, in questioning what goes on in our society.

“That’s why I see these films as personal movies--I try to put all my feelings into them. Because I think that if you can understand your society, it’s the first step toward understanding yourself.”