MACASISKOLA

A young man arrives in a village to study the life of the birds. Lilik helps him in this. Along with other colleagues, Lilik works in the raising of falcons that are trained to kill the pests in the surrounding areas. His day is marked with a meticulousness that borders on fanaticism. The youth soon realizes that the members of the group are not well liked by their neighbors. Teréz, who has a relation with Lilik, is interested in the youth, and one afternoon she goes into his hut and offers herself to him. A hunting incident further unveils the tensions that are undermining the little community. One night a terrible hurricane strikes the village, killing several falcons. The youth can no longer stand Lilik's cold determination, the mechanical existence of the people on a level under the that of animals, Teréz's lack of sensitivity, and the blind and obtuse order of the community. He abandons the village.

"Mészoly's little novel is also a parable like the film. I find it interesting that little scenes composed with an exceptionally detailed microrealism bring out the underlying meaning as well as the more encompassing plot. Man can never detach himself from himself. I believe that the choice of theme is never an accidental pretext. In my three previous films I said those things that I could express in relation to these themes. Now I am committed to other issues. [...]Magasiskola is undoubtedly a type of film that is a little too abstract and parablelike compared to the previous films. This theme called for these expressive methods. I am now awaiting the great task of having to provide an image of the world that is as complete and complex as possible using few characters." (Interview of Istvan Zsugan with Istvan Gaal, "Filmvilag", 16/1969)

Director: Istvan Gaal.
Screenplay: Istvan Gaal, dal romanzo di Miklos Meszoly.
Director of photography: Elemér Ragalyi.
Music: Andras Szollosy.
Cast and characters: Ivan Andonov (il ragazzo), Gyorgy Banffy (Lilik), Judit Meszleri (Teréz).
Production company: MaFilm (Studio 4), Budapest.