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Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueA poor Hungarian dyke-keeper is caught in the politics of illegally slaughtering his pig by a corrupt and deceitful system of government.A poor Hungarian dyke-keeper is caught in the politics of illegally slaughtering his pig by a corrupt and deceitful system of government.A poor Hungarian dyke-keeper is caught in the politics of illegally slaughtering his pig by a corrupt and deceitful system of government.
- Réalisation
- Scénario
- Casting principal
Lajos Öze
- Virág Árpád
- (as Õze Lajos)
Georgette Mertzhradt
- Potocsni elvtársnõ (beszédtanár; szerep-betanító)
- (as Georgette Mertzradt)
Róbert Rátonyi
- Operettszínész
- (as Róbert Ráthonyi)
Károly Bicskey
- Gulyás Elemér
- (as Károly Bicskei)
György Kézdy
- Virág testõre
- (as György Kézdi)
Lajos Mezey
- Író
- (as Lajos Mezei)
Avis à la une
Thanks to my Hungarian colleague, who lent me the DVD, I watched this interesting and excellent movie. And what a movie it was!
From the beginning till the end, this absurd drama entertains, amuses and at the same time, makes one think. The best point of this movie is the central character, who is a simple person, who does not know how to protest, who believes that all the decisions taken by (and the words uttered by) the Comrades in power must be correct, and who therefore obeys their orders unquestioned, and yet tries to be innovative, and thus unwittingly exposes the stupidity and absurdity that lies at the core of their ideology.
I never knew that Hungary makes good movies (maybe because of the more widely known movies and movie makers from Poland and Czech; though I was told that Hungary produces perhaps the best brains in the world, at least, in Mathematics.), but now I know it otherwise.
If you like a good political satire, just watch it.
From the beginning till the end, this absurd drama entertains, amuses and at the same time, makes one think. The best point of this movie is the central character, who is a simple person, who does not know how to protest, who believes that all the decisions taken by (and the words uttered by) the Comrades in power must be correct, and who therefore obeys their orders unquestioned, and yet tries to be innovative, and thus unwittingly exposes the stupidity and absurdity that lies at the core of their ideology.
I never knew that Hungary makes good movies (maybe because of the more widely known movies and movie makers from Poland and Czech; though I was told that Hungary produces perhaps the best brains in the world, at least, in Mathematics.), but now I know it otherwise.
If you like a good political satire, just watch it.
As being a Hungarian myself, I might have a soft spot for this film, but I find it extremely funny anyway.
However, I feel I should add some background to those who never lived in a totalitarian personality cult. An era where the best was to keep your mouth shut even among your best friends, for you could not be sure who will report on you. In an era where a big black car might have stopped at your house in the middle of the night to take you and never let you go again. In an era where when deciding about executives, it was your loyalty that mattered not your skill or know-how. Where everyone stated the lemon to be an orange, if it was the dictum of the leaders. Where not clapping hard enough when "our leader" Rakosi addressed the crowd was enough for imprisonment.
All the events described in this film might seem absurd - but I have to say they easily could have and did happen during the '50s in the East of Europe.
Although the regime softened a bit, in 1969 making this film was still not the safest thing to. Not surprisingly it wasn't aired for almost a decade. But since then, it became a cult film by any means. Lines like "Well, comrade Pelikan, life is not all beer and skittles.." are known and quoted by everyone. Yes, laughing at them is mortal to any dictatures...
However, I feel I should add some background to those who never lived in a totalitarian personality cult. An era where the best was to keep your mouth shut even among your best friends, for you could not be sure who will report on you. In an era where a big black car might have stopped at your house in the middle of the night to take you and never let you go again. In an era where when deciding about executives, it was your loyalty that mattered not your skill or know-how. Where everyone stated the lemon to be an orange, if it was the dictum of the leaders. Where not clapping hard enough when "our leader" Rakosi addressed the crowd was enough for imprisonment.
All the events described in this film might seem absurd - but I have to say they easily could have and did happen during the '50s in the East of Europe.
Although the regime softened a bit, in 1969 making this film was still not the safest thing to. Not surprisingly it wasn't aired for almost a decade. But since then, it became a cult film by any means. Lines like "Well, comrade Pelikan, life is not all beer and skittles.." are known and quoted by everyone. Yes, laughing at them is mortal to any dictatures...
This film can probably be called THE Hungarian cult movie.
It is a very sad comedy, but with a lot of hilariously funny and original ideas. Made in 1969, a time of political liberalization, it was banned before its first screening and could not be shown in Hungary till 1978. Although the plot takes place in the Rákosi era (1949-1956), the darkest years in Hungarian communism, its anarchical criticism of the communist regime also had impact on the time it was made in.
It will be probably fully understood only by people who have some idea of the communist system, but is also watchable for other audiences.
It is a very sad comedy, but with a lot of hilariously funny and original ideas. Made in 1969, a time of political liberalization, it was banned before its first screening and could not be shown in Hungary till 1978. Although the plot takes place in the Rákosi era (1949-1956), the darkest years in Hungarian communism, its anarchical criticism of the communist regime also had impact on the time it was made in.
It will be probably fully understood only by people who have some idea of the communist system, but is also watchable for other audiences.
One of my favorite movies, unfortunately nothing has changed since the 60's, the only difference is that now we call it modern democracy.
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesSeveral quotes from the movie, especially the ones "the international situation is intensifying" and "life is not a whipped-cream cake" have become part of everyday speech in Hungary.
- Citations
Virág Árpád: Life is not a whipped-cream cake, Pelikán.
- Versions alternativesUncensored version: In a longer scene, you can see how in the prison they talk about the thousand years of existence of the Catholic Church and the few years of socialism in comparison. In this version, they don't smoke in prison. Comrade Pelikán visits Zoltán Dániel in prison, where he has already been completely broken. As a result, Pelikán decides to testify. When the guard takes Pelikan to the place of execution, upon their arrival, in the uncensored version, the camera also shows the gallows ready for execution. At the end of the prison scene, the guard tells Pelikán: Get out of here, because I'm going to rage!. Instead of "I get angry", he originally said: "I shoot you in the ass", but due to censorship, it had to be dubbed over, but you can read the original, more stylistic text from his mouth. In the uncensored version, it can be heard with the original text. The last scene, in which Comrade Pelikán and Virág meet on the tram, was completely cut out (because it had to be inserted later, for ideological reasons, due to the positive ending). Therefore, the film ends with Pelican wandering around the big city uncertainly. He stops next to a young man reading a newspaper and asks what day it is, then what month it is. He tells him, but Pelikán even inquires about Duna's position, and the young man asks if Pelikán should also be his bride. In this version, the Marx quote is at the beginning of the film between the cast list and the Attila József quote.
- ConnexionsFollowed by Megint tanú (1995)
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