Szegénylegények/THE ROUND-UP (Miklós Jancsó, 1966)

date watched: May 7, 2009
location: Film Society of Lincoln Center, NYC
Shown as part of "Jancsó Classics"

"For my own sake." These words perhaps best encapsulates the theme of the film; that is, the inborn greed and selfishness of mankind.


When some of the Hungarian inmates are faced with a dilemma--treason or survival--they pick the latter, out of sheer desperation. What the Hungarians do not have the power to discern, however, is that once they are involved in the "multiple choice" process, there is no end to the test. The "picker" becomes "the picked" as soon as he turns around, and there's no guarantee that your own comrades will save you, even if it is your family member. The scene involving the father and son--Kabai senior and Kabai junior, respectively--is especially haunting: will the father sacrifice his neck for his son, or will they both be hanged anyway? In a strange way, it reminded me of the scene in Disney's Lion King, when Scar is reprimanded for playing with his food, when it will end up in his belly anyway. Prolonging torture for an individual to the enjoyment of another--this is truly evil in its highest level.

When the father and son are separated to think about their choices, it was as if they were illustrating the game theory (Economics) in physical practice; instead of "the prisoner's dilemma," this was a matter of life and death.

The "chosen three" are given a chance to redeem themselves as military members, and even give an impressive performance on hand-picked cavalry horses. Their attempts are futile, however, when they are grouped with other prisoners to take responsibility of being former rebels, when their rebel leader is ironically released, leaving them to their doom.

I remember when my mom told me about the vicious cycle in prisons: once you are in, you will commit more crimes, all in order to survive the other rapacious acts within prison walls. The more crimes you commit, the more years you spend in prison, and so the pattern goes.

If Antonioni were a Hungarian, I imagine he would be Jancsó. Their long takes and perturbing landscapes are unforgettable, especially in today's era, when MTV-style flash-cutting is the norm.