Mephisto

Hendrik Höfgen (Klaus Maria Brandauer) plays Mephistopheles on a German stage, and the part makes him famous just as the Nazis take power. Friends and colleagues start to flee or disappear, while Hendrik stays and keeps accepting the favors of his new patrons, among them the Tábornagy (Rolf Hoppe). István Szabó holds his camera close on Brandauer's face and lets the smile do most of the work.