A tanú

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.

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...

That Bacso Peter's devastating satire was banned by the Hungarian authorities for almost a decade will come as no surprise to anyone lucky enough to see this film. You might be left wondering, however, why or how it was eventually granted clearance while communism still held sway in the country. Perhaps it was the pure, blatant cheekiness of the movie? Or perhaps the government of the time realised there was something to be said for the ability to laugh at oneself? Whatever the reasoning, The Witness stands up as more than a curiosity piece from another era. It's still remarkably fresh, and continues to have much to tell us on the subject of authoritarian bureaucracy. Parts of this film, such as the sequence with the 'Magyar Narancs' (Hungarian Orange) have passed into the countries mass consciousness, and with good reason. In fact, I suspect that as good as this film is you really have to be Hungarian to truly appreciate its subtleties and joys. For the rest of us, however, there are still hilarious moments such as the sausage factory in the basement or Pelikan accidentally being given papers with the pre-determined outcome of a court case. This is a unique, beautiful and powerful political satire and a true Hungarian cinematic treasure.

There is much more to reality in this movie than it seems. Many of the characters, motives and stories are based on reality. The main story line - the concept trial of minister Daniel and his group is about the concept trial of communist leader and minister Rajk. He was an ideologist communist and they said that he could be the next leader of Hungary after Rakosi who was the Stalinist leader of Hungary between 1949 and 1956. Rajk had different ideas than Rakosi on many questions. He got apprehended in 1949. He had a public trial where everything was pre-arranged. The false accusation and the testimonies of the witnesses were written by Rákosi's administration and Moscow. The witnesses were prepared and trained by the ÁVH (Hungarian KGB). Many intellectuals actually did believe in communism but after the Rajk trial and the mystic disappearance of people on a mass scale showed everyone the true face of the Rákosi regime. It was very uncertain whether Bacsó can make the film at all. The party made some suggestions. For example the original script referred to the traitor Daniel as the "Daniel gang" like Rajk and his friends were called the "Rajk gang". The censors asked Bacsó to alter the term "gang" to "group" as the term gang was a too clear reference to Rajk.

The characters: - There was a major party member and army general who was the model of comrade Bástya. - Comrade Virág was based on the much feared ÁVH leader Péter Gábor. ÁVH did took a lot of people from their homes in the middle of the night in black, curtained cars. They tried to convince and break people by being both brutal and nice. Comrade Virág uses all kind of methods to drive Pelikán to be the key witness. Also the clothes of the ÁVH agents are very much like the real and Virág's room has many references how some party leaders were thinking and living.

Pelikán's jobs: - Swimming pool: There was a major party member who used to get one of Budapest's major swimming pools emptied when he wanted to swim. This comrade kept this habit even in the seventies. - Theme park: The original name of the Hungarian theme park was really English Park that has changed sometime in the Rákosi regime. Also the scenic railway really had a communist version where they showed how the society evolved (according to Engels' theory). - Hungarian orange: It is true that Hungarians wanted to grow orange in Hungary. The project was launched by Rákosi himself.

There are also a lot of references in the movie to real persons and events most of which can be understood by the ones actually lived in Hungary in the 50's. Bacsó said that the last scene where comrade Virág and Pelikán met on the tram and the tram door closed very much resembled the days when the film was made. Although the Stalinist Rákosi regime was over the and the prisoners of the 50's and their guards were still there. They traveled on the closed tram together like fishes in an aquarium.

I'm 29, live in Hungary, but only have seen this movie yesterday. I think, something was missing from my overall general knowledge of us.

The change to freedom from the socialist-communist regime was in 1989, 17 years ago (as of 2006), but all these experiences are so alive in today's people. Especially in the middle age (40-60 year old) generation lived through that time and their mind is vividly remembering. Sentences like the "The situation is intensifying!" (A helyzet fokozódik!), "Life is not a whipped-cream cake!" (Az élet nem habostorta.) are very common to hear. I remember my high school teachers using these phrases very often.

There's even a magazine called Magyar Narancs (Hungarian Orange) - I just didn't know why it is called orange until yesterday. I guess Fidesz, one of the current leader political parties (right wing), has it's color orange because they were related to this magazine during their early times.

There are a lot of elements in the film that are not explained, but everybody knows here. The black car arrived to take someone, to call each other Comrade (this was the natural way to address to others), to eat "tarhonya" again and again.

I just can't understand how this movie could be filmed and then released before 1989 and how the producers didn't finish up in a prison.

Another thing I liked how Pelikan lives his life. When it's time for joy, he is happy, when is time to move on, he moves on, he takes life as it comes. Going with the flow in the sense of Buddhists. He knows who he is, what he is capable of and lives true to his own values. And so he is living what life brings in front of him and happy with that.

This is a wonderful movie and is a must to understand daily life in Hungary. So, just rent it and watch it! 10/10