The premise of the plot is that in 1894, in Austria-Hungary, an army's march to the garrison is rather a social event: both the soldiers and the twonspeople consider this a chance to make a marriage with good prospects. Ironically, it is the experienced first lieutenant, Ferdinandy (Ferenc Kallai), who falls in love head over heels foolishly withe local doctor's wife, Anna (Margit Bara). The scandal is ensured.
The military elite is rotten to the core, who are not afraid to demise innocent people for the "greater good". This not only foreshadows the fall of Austria-Hungary in the 1910s, but since the film was made in the 1960s, it also paralells with the contemporary authoritarian leadership. Another layer of a theme might be a sort of metaphysical act, when the first lieutenant signals the end of an act with his handkerchief - I won't go into details to avoid spoilers.
There is a wide range of visual elements from unusual camera angels to noirish shadowing and symbolic shots, and there is a big emphasis on the vivid colours (or the lack of them). The music is too sentimental for my taste, but the gypsy melodies were far more powerful because of their passion.
Overall, this story is simple but it has more layers than you'd expect; the visuals were great, I was completely taken off guard with this film, which is barely known even in Hungary now, although in 1961 it was the most viewed.
