PARBESZED

Judit and Laszlo, two young intellectuals, love each other, are married to each other, and have worked and struggled for a new way of life in Hungary. All of this is suddenly blotted out when Laszlo was forced to serve a harsh sentence during the "terror" of the 1950's. While her husband was absent, Judit had rediscovered a childhood friend and became his lover. When Laszlo is rehabilitated upon his release from prison, his life seems by now to have been wasted. He initiates a long dialogue with his wife, for whom he has by now become a stranger. He reevokes their common past. it is experienced again through an exhausting exercise that puts their sincerity up to a hard test. In the end, Judit and Laszlo realize that happiness cannot be anything but the result of a long struggle.

"Parbeszéd started out like a drama of everyday life with a look back in time in the communist manner. In its aim, in its needs, in its theme, in its perspective, in its expressiveness, and in many extraordinary details, it started wit like one of our own films. In the end, it has almost gotten away from us. [...] At the same time, Parbeszéd clearly proves that we cannot use traditional structural elements and dramatic situations in order to represent our problems without making essential changes." (Janos Komlos, "Népszabadsag", 12/10/1963)

Director and screenplay: Janos Hersko.
Director of photography: Gyorgy Illés.
Music: Inire Vincze, Gyorgy Cara.
Cast and characters: Anita Semjén (Judit), Imre Sinkovits (Laszlo Horvath), Istvan Sztankay (il poeta).
Production company: Studio Hunnia, Budapest.