At this fall’s Funzine Film Club, we screened the classic The Witness(A tanú) by Péter Bacsó, the story of a pig-killing fiend József Pelikán, who is rewarded for his crime with one high-ranking job after another.
He never fails in failing at his tasks and yet his illustrious career continues, from his idea to build a socialist house of horrors at the funfair to his supervision of the Hungarian Orange
(“The new Hungarian orange. It’s slightly yellower, it’s slightly sharper, but it’s our own.”) The film’s devastating attack on the communist state, led to it being banned for ten years before slowly leaking out across the country and into the Hungarian history books.
The film club was a complete sell out (apologies for those who had to sit on the floor) and, as well as getting the opportunity to watch this classic on the big screen with English subtitles, many people also went home with prizes ranging from language classes to hair cuts.
After the screening we had planned to talk with Péter Bacsó but unfortunately he was unable to attend due to illness. Instead the discussion was led by journalist Zsombolyai János someone who also worked in the arts under socialism. She’d recently interviewed Bacsó and used this, along with many funny anecdotes to offer insights into the story behind the screening and its failed sequel.
As the New Year approaches we’re starting to plan a whole new round of films to screen to the great Funzine readership. If you have any suggestions for films you’d love to see on the big screen then drop us a line and we’ll try to squeeze it into our schedule, as well as utilizing our unendingly brilliant phonebook to drag someone associated with the film out in front of you to answer your questions.
If you missed the film then you can rent it from:
Odeon-Lloyd
1136 Budapest, Hollán Ernő u. 7.
