State of Siege

State of Siege follows Philip Michael Santore, an American official working in South America for an agency that presents itself as a development body. His work makes him a target for a left-wing urban guerrilla movement, and he is seized by the fighters along with a Brazilian consul. Held prisoner, Santore is questioned by his captors, and the interrogation exposes the violent realities of the country's political conflict. Once the questioning is over, the guerrillas must decide his fate. The story is set in Uruguay in the early 1970s, in the period when the Tupamaros were active, and draws on the real case of an American official killed by that movement in 1970.

The film is directed by Costa-Gavras and written by Franco Solinas. It came in the run of political thrillers that followed his earlier features, among them The Sleeping Car Murders, Z and The Confession. Yves Montand plays Santore, with Renato Salvatori, O.E. Hasse, Jacques Weber, Jean-Luc Bideau and Maurice Teynac in supporting roles; the credited cast numbers 27.

Released at the end of 1972, the film took about 8 million dollars worldwide and runs 122 minutes. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.7 from roughly 6,700 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7.2 from about 120 votes, indicating a solid reputation among viewers, though the two samples differ greatly in size.