Zvjozdy i soldaty
Directed by:
Miklós JancsóCinematography:
Tamás SomlóCast:
József Madaras, Jácint Juhász, Sergey Nikonenko, Bolot Bejšenalijev, Nikita Mikhalkov, Yevgeniy Karelskikh, Pyotr Savin, Krystyna Mikołajewska (more)Plots(1)
The plot of the film takes place in 1918 on Soviet territory and reveals the murderous clashes between Red troops and the overwhelming White guards. The commander of the Hungarian volunteers stationed in the monastery at Ipatyev prepares for the execution of White prisoners, but in a few minutes it is the Whites who begin a terrible man-slaughter over his corpse. It is only a couple of Hungarians, László and his boss István who escape. László carries the news about destruction to the main troops passing a hospital. István and his companions who stuck there are killed by the Whites. There is a tiny Red battalion to revenge this then they march to their death singing the Marseilles. László salutes with his sword on the spot. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (2)
I get "what the author wanted to say", but unfortunately the message did not touch me in any significant way. On the one hand, the series of events linked by a random sequence of tragic incidents, in which potential heroes suddenly die or disappear from the plot, bravely reflects the fatality and conditionality of human behaviour in difficult life situations and gives an original account of the historical context depicted, but on the other hand, it lacks real human emotion. It is as if Jancsó is so determinedly focused on the layout and planning of the movement on the mise-en-scène (which is really evident in the long shots framed by the fluid camera movement) that he completely neglects to bring the action closer to the viewer to arouse their expectations or concern for the characters. A film can be valuable in terms of meaning, but if it cannot naturalise its meaning in a valuable way, it simply cannot warrant praise.
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The film didn't grip me so much with its somewhat peculiar story, which is drawn out, and could be described as a guard change, but it gripped me with individual scenes portrayed here very powerfully and emotionally, and will have an impact on you, even if you didn't want to give the film a chance. The condemned, singing their own version of La Marseillaise, sends shivers down your spine.
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