Silence and Cry

The Round-Up and The Red and the White both dealt with key moments in the Hungarian suppression of Communism, and introduced Jancsó's method as an ultra-stylised manipulation of politically symbolic figures in harsh, unyielding landscapes. Silence and Cry resumes the discussion at a newly intimate, domestic level, and introduces the psychological questions that dominate some of Jancsó's later movies. It centres on a refugee from the 'Red' army, hiding out from the police in the farmhouse of some politically dubious peasants, and focuses on his horror at his hosts' bland acceptance of their situation, which eventually provokes a 'meaningless' tragedy. Jancsó's characteristic sequence-shots turn the chamber drama into a political thriller pregnant with wider connotations, including veiled comments on the contemporary state of Hungary.