disillusioned. disenchanted — a process charted in his films. which tnove from through the glasnost-era ambiguities of Jesus ('lu'i'st's Homs't'opt’ (which features one of cinema's all-time great endings). to the profound cynicism of 1992’s Blue Danube Hit/1:.
lit the early 1970s. he went to Italy (‘There was a woman.’ he says airilyi. For a time he seemed to commute between his homeland and that country. producing films in each. Later he returned to Hungary and resumed work. though he never again quite commanded the same attention from international critics. His work grew more intricate. insular arid private.
His recent work has been especially problematic. ()ver four films now. he has followed the comic misadventures of Kapa and Pepe. layabouts who may also be gravediggers. or bums. The tone is always anecdotal. the mood laid back. almost lackadaisical. With their barrage of historical references. satirical barbs and linguistic puns that seem intended to baffle even the most ardent fan. This seems to be at least part of the point: when I admit to not understanding his recent work. .lancso gives a short. satisfied chuckle. '()f course you don't.' he smiles. ‘You‘re not Hungarian. They're not made for you.‘
What one misses from those films is the seamless technique of his early work. that masterly control of mise-en-scene. C onventionally shot. and edited in a more or less standard style. they lack the flawless surface of his greatest work. Jancso. at first. claims the shift is purely a matter of adapting to current tastes: ‘Have you seen MTV'." he asks. ‘Then you must know why I'm doing this. Film grammar has changed: people are bored now with long. elaborate shots — as ain l.‘
Only later does he admit to extemal factors: ‘Technically. there used to be sonte innovation to the long take.‘ he says. “But now you have DV cameras that cart shoot 90-minute takes. as Sokurov did with Russian Ark. So what's the point'.’ And also. I no longer have the money. the huge casts. the budgets. to do the
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Clockwise trom top left Jesus Christ Horoscope, My Way Home. Jesus Christ Horoscope, The Red and the White
large scale productions I used to. So I have had to reinvent myself.’
For over 35 years. his films have addressed one overriding subject: the essentially arbitrary nature of power. How it inevitably transforms those who possess it into oppi-essois. and ltow those roles may shift at a moment's notice lla\ iug worked within a communist state. Jancso knows this subiect iii intimate detail. He soon learned to speak discreetly. in metaphor and implication and to work within the sy stein. tWheu asked how he made political satires with funding from the very dictatorship he was lampooning. the fihnmaker responded: ‘yeiy qiuckly' l
This occasionally led to some delicate situations I ikc his
supposed war epic (actually an anti-war poleniici Hit Red and the ll'lrire r the only Soyiet-llungariau co production ever made. specially commissioned to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. l ELABORATE SHOTS - AS
'There were two edits done.‘ .lancso eyplains ‘( tire for the Soviets and one for its. They cut the Russian version themselves: I have never actually seen it \iid then lcinematographer'I Tamas Solmo and l were invited to Moscow for the pretttiet'e. We had no idea I, which version was being screened. and immediately after the introduction we were whisked away to this official banquet at the Soviet ()fficers ('lub'.
'Two hours later. in came this general. the director ot the club. He strode tip to our table and boomed: “Which or you comrades tnade the film?" We thought: "Oh (iod' Rather nervoUsly. I said: “It was me" and he threw his arms around me and started to cry. And Tamas whispered "He obviously didn't see our version?"
The Miklos Janscé Retrospective starts on Mon 18 Aug. See Film Festival Index for details.
THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 41