La faille

Greece 1974 - during the brutal era of the military government, and innocent tourist manager (Ugo Tognazzi) is accused of being a member of the illegal resistance movement. Two secret agents (Michel Piccoli and Mario Adorf) are bringing the innocent victim to Athens. During their trip, their car breaks down, and they're stopping in a small village. From now on, everybody is fighting against each other, and a psychological cat-and mouse-play is starting...

Filmed shorty after the end of the military terror regime in Greece, "Der dritte Grad" is less a political thriller in the wake of Watergate and Co. but rather a well-done psycho thriller about terror, angst, obedience, torture and sheer naked aggression. The plot focuses on the three men, all brilliantly played by the Italian-German cast of Ugnazzi, Piccoli and Adorf, and the fast-pacing action of the second half of this movie and the surprising end makes this movie an outstanding European "Politthriller", directed by German Peter Fleischmann. If you've got the rare occasion to watch this film, do it!