The Round-Up (1966)
(Szegénylegények)
Country: HUN
Technical: bw/2.35:1 95m
Director: Miklós Jancsó
Cast: János Görbe, Zoltán Latinovits, Tibor Molnár
Synopsis:
Some years after the suppression of the Hungarian revolution against Austria in 1849, Hungarians in Austrian uniform hold prisoner dozens of suspect freedom fighters, or 'bandits'. In a compartmented stockade in the middle of the vast plain, psychological manipulation is used to set in motion a chain of denunciation and betrayal, and at times power is wielded simply for its own sake.
Review:
Jancsó's fourth film, made possible by a policy of liberalisation in the early sixties, clearly resonated with the 1956 revolution and its aftermath, and the illusory freedom of the deserted plain that surrounds the prison, and can be seen tantalisingly through its open door, may be read as a metaphor for the phoney freedom afforded by Bolshevism. However, the film retains its relevance, now the shattering impact of its first appearance has abated, as a meditation on the power games played by oppressors everywhere and inflicted on the defenceless poor (the Hungarian title means 'The Hopeless Ones'). Formally, it is representative of the director's style, with long sequence shots involving a mixture of close-ups and long-shots, use of offscreen space, a mobile camera (on a dolly) and a fragmentary narrative. However, the shots are nowhere near as extended as in some of his later films, where they foreshadow the technique of film-maker Béla Tarr.
(Szegénylegények)
Country: HUN
Technical: bw/2.35:1 95m
Director: Miklós Jancsó
Cast: János Görbe, Zoltán Latinovits, Tibor Molnár
Synopsis:
Some years after the suppression of the Hungarian revolution against Austria in 1849, Hungarians in Austrian uniform hold prisoner dozens of suspect freedom fighters, or 'bandits'. In a compartmented stockade in the middle of the vast plain, psychological manipulation is used to set in motion a chain of denunciation and betrayal, and at times power is wielded simply for its own sake.
Review:
Jancsó's fourth film, made possible by a policy of liberalisation in the early sixties, clearly resonated with the 1956 revolution and its aftermath, and the illusory freedom of the deserted plain that surrounds the prison, and can be seen tantalisingly through its open door, may be read as a metaphor for the phoney freedom afforded by Bolshevism. However, the film retains its relevance, now the shattering impact of its first appearance has abated, as a meditation on the power games played by oppressors everywhere and inflicted on the defenceless poor (the Hungarian title means 'The Hopeless Ones'). Formally, it is representative of the director's style, with long sequence shots involving a mixture of close-ups and long-shots, use of offscreen space, a mobile camera (on a dolly) and a fragmentary narrative. However, the shots are nowhere near as extended as in some of his later films, where they foreshadow the technique of film-maker Béla Tarr.
(Szegénylegények)
Country: HUN
Technical: bw/2.35:1 95m
Director: Miklós Jancsó
Cast: János Görbe, Zoltán Latinovits, Tibor Molnár
Synopsis:
Some years after the suppression of the Hungarian revolution against Austria in 1849, Hungarians in Austrian uniform hold prisoner dozens of suspect freedom fighters, or 'bandits'. In a compartmented stockade in the middle of the vast plain, psychological manipulation is used to set in motion a chain of denunciation and betrayal, and at times power is wielded simply for its own sake.
Review:
Jancsó's fourth film, made possible by a policy of liberalisation in the early sixties, clearly resonated with the 1956 revolution and its aftermath, and the illusory freedom of the deserted plain that surrounds the prison, and can be seen tantalisingly through its open door, may be read as a metaphor for the phoney freedom afforded by Bolshevism. However, the film retains its relevance, now the shattering impact of its first appearance has abated, as a meditation on the power games played by oppressors everywhere and inflicted on the defenceless poor (the Hungarian title means 'The Hopeless Ones'). Formally, it is representative of the director's style, with long sequence shots involving a mixture of close-ups and long-shots, use of offscreen space, a mobile camera (on a dolly) and a fragmentary narrative. However, the shots are nowhere near as extended as in some of his later films, where they foreshadow the technique of film-maker Béla Tarr.