Costa-Gavras takes on racism // `Betrayed' examines everyday bigotry

LOS ANGELES Costa-Gavras, the Greek-born director whose latestmovie, "Betrayed," focuses on organized racism in the Americanheartland, just can't seem to stay away from controversy. He's amaster of the political thriller, and many of his previous films havetaken unconventional looks at inflammatory issues.

The Oscar-winning "Z" (1969) dissected the 1960s Greek militaryjunta's assassination policies. "Missing" (1982) was a study of U.S.involvement - both emotional and covert - in the Pinochet coupagainst Chile's elected, socialist government. "Hanna K" (1983), anunlikely love story played out in Israeli-occupied Palestine, broughtfundamental concepts of justice into question.

And with "Betrayed," now playing at local theaters,Costa-Gavras examines grassroots U.S. fascism in a melodramatic,ugly light. That wouldn't be so remarkable if he didn't alsoportray its hateful, sometimes deadly proponents as caring, evendownright attractive human beings. Tom Berenger, who (aside from hisevil sergeant role in "Platoon") generally plays likable leading men,is a bitter Nebraska farmer and former Marine who dearly loves hisfamily but is paranoically contemptuous of anyone who's not Christianand Caucasian.

Suspected of the ambush murder of a liberal, Jewish radio-showhost, he is put under FBI surveillance in the person of DebraWinger. Disguised as a combine operator, Winger's character isactually a fresh-out-of-college G-woman who has been betrayed a fewtimes herself, especially by her ex-lover and boss (John Heard).Raised in an orphanage, she's quickly charmed by her widowed quarry,his cute kids and their salt-of-the-earth relatives and neighbors.By the time she learns, in the ghastliest way, that the Bureau'ssuspicions were founded, it's too late: She's already hopelessly inlove.

"Betrayed" began causing a stir a few months ago, when anangered woman stormed out of a preview screening, protesting that thefilm portrayed white people inaccurately. The picture also can beexpected to evoke resentful grumblings from minority groups for itsgraphic, racist language and situations (at one point, the farmersactually hunt a black man like they would a forest animal), not tomention its more sympathetic scenes of the hatemongers at work andplay. In this year of "Colors" and "The Last Temptation of Christ,"however, any public tempests "Betrayed" stirs up should becomparatively teapot-size. Nevertheless, Costa-Gavras hopes his filmis judged as a work of art, not a media event.

"The movie has to be seen and shown with less of an uproar,"said the leathery-skinned, 55-year-old director in broken, haltingEnglish. "I would prefer to speak about what's in the movie, not anyprotests around it, as happened with Martin Scorsese's film (`LastTemptation'). Otherwise, we lose the point."

Costa-Gavras' point is that the disease of racism is one we allhave to immunize ourselves against. "We all can be racists," he said."Personally, I try to fight it. Some people don't. That doesn'tmake them any less human than I am, so portraying them as humanshouldn't be surprising. I think even Hitler could be a very humanperson. There are home movies of him and Eva Braun at his summerresidence. He's being nice to his dogs, playing with some children.Sure, that's the image every politician cultivates, but behind itthere's reality.

"It would be a fake idea to say that just because someone hasbad theories or hateful philosophies that they are also bad withtheir kids or dogs or their mothers."

For his first American production, Costa-Gavras traveled thecountry for more than a year, working with screenwriter Joe Eszterhas("Flashdance," "Jagged Edge") on the script, studying reams ofinformation on white-supremacy groups and interviewing some of theirmembers, although of the latter he said, "Once you speak to, say,three of these people, you know everything."

Costa-Gavras' most profound realizations came from the moreeveryday forms of racism he found in American society. He wasshocked by a news report about a black teacher who moved into anall-white Chicago neighborhood to be nearer to the school where sheworked, only to have her house broken into and windows smashed bysome angry neighbors.

"I was riding in a cab in downtown Chicago," Costa-Gavrasrecalled. "This old black man was crossing the street, and my Polishdriver said, `Look how much time that monkey takes.' I said, `Hey,he's an old man, he can't help it.' The driver was surprised that Ieven argued with him. This is the awful thing.

"What I'm trying to say is that if the movie shows extremistracist groups, it's not about those groups. They're marginal. Theycan kill some people, as gangsters do, but I don't believe they're adanger to the security of this country. But the seeds of racism arethe same as in a lot of places.

"A character in the movie, Shorty (played by the busy Chicagoactor John Mahoney, who turns in the same solid performance here asin `Moonstruck' and `Eight Men Out,' opening Friday in Chicago), islike my taxi driver. He lost his farm and needs to blame somebodyfor that. If something personal happens to him, he will go with hishatred, like the German people did and as, I'm afraid, the French aredoing now with (right-wing politician) Le Pen."

Of course, not all of Costa-Gavras' experiences in the UnitedStates were negative. He said Chicago's film crews ("Betrayed" wasshot for 3 1/2 weeks in the Windy City) were as professional andenthusiastic as any he has worked with. Contrary to most Europeandirectors' horror stories about hands-on American producers,Costa-Gavras found his boss, Irwin ("Rocky") Winkler, immenselyhelpful in a non-interfering way. And he fell in love with thephysical beauty of the Midwestern countryside. Although filmed forthe most part in southern Alberta, Canada, "Betrayed" bathes itsamber waves and big-sky horizons with a loving, golden glow fewhomegrown filmmakers could hope to match.

"As I traveled around the United States, I found the countrybreathtakingly beautiful," Costa-Gavras said. "France (where he haslived for the past 35 years) is also beautiful, but you go quicklyfrom one landscape to a different one in an hour. Here, you have totravel for six hours before a change. It's that feeling we Europeansused to get from your cowboy movies, that what you see goes onforever. That gives you much more of an idea of freedom. It's scaryas well, like being caught far out in the ocean, but the possibilityof everything is there and it can all be yours."

Costa-Gavras might have been an American by now, if ourimmigration service had cooperated. Born Konstantinos Gavras inAthens, he left Greece at the height of that nation's long,post-World War II civil war between communists and conservatives,with the intention of joining relatives in Milwaukee. Refused a visato the United States (although he could not return to Greece duringthe years of the colonels' regime, Costa-Gavras originally left hishomeland to study, not as a political exile), he settled in Paris,where he quickly earned a degree in literature at the Sorbonne.After attending film school, he apprenticed as an assistant directorfor legendary French auteurs such as Rene Clair and Jacques Demy.

His first feature, "The Sleeping Car Murders," was a majorsuccess in 1965. Most of his subsequent work has married politicalthemes with suspense: "The Confession" (1970) was about a Stalin-eratrial, "State of Siege" (1973) looked at CIA-sponsored repression inUruguay and "Special Section" (1975) re-created the executions ofFrench partisans in Nazi-occupied Paris. Most recently, however, thedirector turned to black social comedy with "Family Business," ahilarious portrait of afamily of French thieves that was not released in Chicago.

When you try to pigeonhole Costa-Gavras as a politicalfilmmaker, he immediately responds with evasive maneuvers. "Peopleare always trying to put me in a box. I'm always trying not to fitin one; you're going to spend enough time in a box after you die,"he said with a mischievous chuckle. "I wouldn't say my films focus onpolitics. They're more oriented toward ethical or social issues. Ideal with politics, I would say, only in the Greek origins of theword. Which is: What concerns the policy of the city or state andhow it governs our lives.

"I'm not trying to say that I always see the right thing in theright way. It's more like I'm asking questions. Why this? Whythat? I'm not issuing answers. What the great Czech author MilanKundera said about writing, I feel, also applies to movies: The onlyclever thing is to ask questions.

"Television gives answers to everything today. Movies shouldstay away from that."