Based on the Faust theme this 10 episode series follows the protagonist as a young man from the end of WW2, the rise of Stalinism in Hungary, the 1956 uprising, '60s liberal communism, to an untimely death in boating accident on lake Balaton.
While the protagonist doesn't exactly sell his soul to the devil there is a constant theme of compromise to a regime which in 1984 still put constraints on freedoms of expression.
Directed by the most renowned Hungarian auteur of all time it makes the most of the small screen and limited budget, and I'd put it on par with Reitz's "Heimat" and Fassbinder's "Berlin Alexanderplatz" as required viewing.
I first saw it as a full day screening at London's British Film Institute around 1986, when someone troubled to give it English subtitles.
Having contacts within Hungarian MTV archives I managed to get a personal burn onto DVDs and re-watched recently, but sadly there is no way for the public to watch this essential drama even in its native country ...
While the protagonist doesn't exactly sell his soul to the devil there is a constant theme of compromise to a regime which in 1984 still put constraints on freedoms of expression.
Directed by the most renowned Hungarian auteur of all time it makes the most of the small screen and limited budget, and I'd put it on par with Reitz's "Heimat" and Fassbinder's "Berlin Alexanderplatz" as required viewing.
I first saw it as a full day screening at London's British Film Institute around 1986, when someone troubled to give it English subtitles.
Having contacts within Hungarian MTV archives I managed to get a personal burn onto DVDs and re-watched recently, but sadly there is no way for the public to watch this essential drama even in its native country ...
