János Ács

In this powerful film, the renowned William Shakespeare play is stripped down to the bare essentials, consisting of two lengthy shots.

He starts going, carrying a dinner-can. His eyes are suddenly arrested by the breasts of the girl on the bicycle, riding towards him. Prompted by the strange movements of the girl as well as by seeing another girl in a wheel-chair, his imagination starts working. In his dream, as he follows a young woman dressed in white, he comes to a tunnel. On its wall, which is full of candles, he reads the sign, "Memories Prohibited". Yet he is still able to enter the Tunnel of Memories.

For this austere, clear and sharp telefeature, Judit Elek focused on the last months of Martinovics’ life: his interrogation by the Austrians, the examining Magistrate Schilling in particular, shown as a battle of wits as well as delusions – on both sides. Elek had wanted to make this film in the early 1970s, but wasn’t allowed to. When she finally got the chance, the reactions were predictable, as the parallels with recent Hungarian history were simply too obvious for officialdom not to feel anxious. History may not repeat itself, but the variations look eerily similar...

A három jószívű rabló