Cinema
People of the Mountains
Emberek a havason
István Szőts · 1942
Synopsis
In the high mountains of Transylvania, the Székely woodcutter Erdei Csutak Gergely lives in poverty with his wife Anna and their little Gergő, in an unspoilt landscape. The steward of the Arbor forestry company, which owns the land, drives them out of their home, then hires the husband as a woodcutter and the wife in the canteen, because he has designs on her. One Sunday, he sends Gergely to work far away for double pay; Anna escapes him, flees with the child and falls into a ravine, from which old Üdő Márton pulls her out.
Context
The film is drawn from the stories of József Nyirő. It was shot in 1941 and 1942, partly in Northern Transylvania, around the Red Lake and at Csíksomlyó, and partly at the Hunnia studios in Budapest, with little-known actors. Before Venice, scenes judged harmful to the country's image had been cut; Szőts himself put them back into the print. Awarded at the Biennale in September 1942, the film was praised by the Italian critics, who saw in it a forerunner of neorealism, whereas the Hungarian critics snubbed it. Goebbels, who judged it too Catholic, banned its screening in the Reich.
Who it is for
A mountain ballad in black and white, drawn from Transylvanian tales; the Cinémathèque française showed it in 2018, with no localised French commercial release.
Prizes and reception
Prize of the Venice Biennale in 1942 for the most artistic film; selected in 2000 among the twelve best Hungarian films.
Sources for this page 5
The pages consulted to check this page.