Cinema
The Whistling Cobblestone
A sípoló macskakő
Gyula Gazdag · 1972
Synopsis
Hundreds of Budapest secondary-school pupils arrive at a summer work camp in the countryside, settle in, elect their leaders and organise communal life. It soon becomes apparent that there is a lack of work. The supervisors do not want to tell them so and, to maintain order, impose pointless occupations on them. A local peasant hires three boys to hoe his maize, and the camp leader sends them home the very next day.
Context
Gazdag's first feature film, made when he was twenty-four, was shot in 1971 from a screenplay written with the literary historian Miklós Györffy, with non-professional actors, among them the future filmmaker János Xantus. The title comes from a toy that whistles when squeezed and that appears in a few scenes. The authorities demanded cuts, which Gazdag refused; at first banned, the film was not released until February 1972.
Who it is for
A film with an improvised feel, played by high-school students, about boredom and everyday lying; no French release has been located.
Prizes and reception
A youthful work that critics now regard as an exact and uncompromising satire of how the regime worked.
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