Bath Film Festival 2008

The Round-Up (Szegénylegények)

A profound influence on filmmakers from Sergio Leone to Béla Tarr, one of Sight & Sound’s ‘Best 365 Films of All Time’, The Round-Up is widely acknowledged as a supreme masterpiece. Set in a detention camp in the Hungary of 1869, at a time of guerrilla campaigns against the ruling Austrians following the failed uprising of 1848, Jancsó deliberately avoids conventional heroics to focus on the persecution and dehumanization manifest in a time of conflict. Master of the long sweeping take, he continually implies action beyond the frame, creating dazzlingly choreographed sequences of images. Filmed on Hungary’s desolate plains, The Round-Up paradoxically conveys an oppressive sense of imprisonment in the midst of endless space, and Jancsó summons a terrifying picture of the abuse of power that once seen is unforgettable. We are delighted that through the auspices of Second Run we can present a film by this titan of world cinema for the first time since the inaugural Bath Film Festival in 1991. Do not miss this rare chance to see a supreme example of Jancsó's work.  SR/CB

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