Tight Quarters

This cold-blooded, claustrophobic satire of social and sexual tensions behind the erstwhile Iron Curtain might have stood as a model of the Hungarian New Wave (had such a movement ever existed), showing all the uninhibited, spontaneous energy of a film restricted only by its lean budget and tight production schedule. The American title ('Tight Quarters') offers a more explicit description of its lover's triangle, with one corner represented by an unlucky worker returning home after 28 months in prison to find his wife living with another man. Because housing is in such short supply the trio is forced to share their one small apartment, much to the dismay of all three, who soon engage in a three-way antagonistic battle of wills, overshadowed by the omnipotent specter of the State. Sexual provocation, displays of East Bloc machismo, and documentary-like interviews with various 'witnesses' help fill in the details.