It’s Greece, 1974, and a man clambers out of an upper story apartment window in a mad dash to escape the police pursuing him before leaping to his death on the street below. Meanwhile across the street is a travel agent going about his business, trying to sell a vacation package to a foreign couple. Later the travel agent, credited as Georgis (Ugo Tognazzi) in the credits but never formally named in the film, is eating lunch at a quaint street cafe when a man steps on his toe. Next thing we know, Georgis is being questioned for reasons unknown by the “director” after which he is then sent cross country to “Central” in Athens with a pair of agents, the “investigator” (Michel Piccoli) and the “manager” (Mario Adorf). Georgis continues to profess his innocence in the matter, and the agents do everything in their power to avoid telling him anything about what’s happening. What follows is a series of mind games as each attempts to suss out what the other knows and what is really happening.

Weak Spot is a fascinatingly eccentric political thriller that is also refreshingly and willfully free of actual real world politics (it’s all about reading between the lines). Instead what we have here is a deceptively taut and paranoid battle of wills fought in between the words spoken. By avoiding giving anyone a name in the course of the narrative, what we are left with are archetypes. The easy-going everyman, polite and confused as to why he’s being taken into custody for some mysterious “experiment”. The all-seeing “director” with all the answers and with a hidden agenda. The hard-nosed “investigator”, unfeeling and all-business. The cool and collected “manager” who knows how to get things done and make sure things go smoothly. The thing is, these are false archetypes. No one is as they seem. Our wrong man may know more than he’s telling. The “director” may not know as much as he thinks he does. The “investigator” may be more sad and tired inside than he lets on. The “manager” may find things falling apart around him sooner than later. A by-product of this willful obfuscation of character motivation is that the whole affair feels like a fever dream out of Franz Kafka’s The Trial. Tognazzi and Piccoli are both great here, each in a kind of dance with the other. It’s a delicate balance but they manage it effortlessly. There is an absurdism and dry comedic tone at play here that gives the film a borderline surrealist tone in the vein of Luis Bunuel. To top it all off, we have an excellent Ennio Morricone score as well. It is at turns jaunty, whimsical, pulse-pounding and poignant in equal measure.

Radiance has provided another very nice transfer, which was scanned from the original negative by Studio Canal. It has a very clean, well-balanced image with a nice grain level and deep, healthy blacks in the more shadowy scenes. The French mono track is also nice and clear with little to no hiss or distortion. For extras, first we have a full-length audio commentary by critic Travis Woods who does a good job covering the production of the film as well as its significance and why it’s so effective as a paranoia-laced thriller. We also get an archival interview with the “investigator” Michel Piccoli as well as soundtrack expert Lovely John discussing Morricone’s great score. The limited edition in classic Radiance fashion also gets a nice physical booklet featuring an excellent and informative essay by film historian/writer/director Kat Ellinger. Overall a very nice collection of bonus features.

Weak Spot is a hidden gem in the world of paranoia thrillers with an element of absurdism that makes it a great watch for both suspense hounds and arthouse fans alike. Once again Radiance has delivered an excellent film that is more deserving of getting eyes on it.