The Hopeless Ones

This film (drama)Also known asSzegénylegények，is aHungaryProducerwomen sex，At1966Released in year 。The dialogue language isHungarian，Current Douban rating7.8(For reference only)。

In 1848, a nationalist movement led by Kossuth erupted in Hungary against the Austrian Hapsburg rule. Unfortunately, this revolution failed, and Austrian hegemony was reestablished. To completely eradicate the legendary Sandor Rozsa guerrilla group, the army concentrated prisoners in a remote fort in the wilderness. The authorities did not know what the guerrilla leader looked like but knew he was among these prisoners. They subjected the prisoners to a deliberately designed mental torment, making it hard to distinguish between truth and deception. They selected some captives who had killed during peasant uprisings and subjected them to coercion and temptation. Whoever could identify a fellow captive who had killed more than themselves or point out the guerrilla leader would be pardoned. The protagonist, who has a cowardly face, was one of them. He did not know who had killed more than he had, so he took every opportunity to learn about others, acting like a spy sent in by the army among the captives. He was not entirely arbitrary in his accusations; once, through conversation, he learned that a certain captive had killed one more person than he had, so he promptly reported it to the army. That captive was executed. However, this behavior was eventually caught by the other prisoners, and he naturally could not escape his fate.Later, due to changes in the war, the army urgently needed to recruit more soldiers. Therefore, the "crimes" of the captives were temporarily overlooked, and they were enlisted; some even went directly from the execution grounds to the barracks. Those with skills were appointed as minor leaders and formed a cavalry unit composed of captives.Training proceeded vigorously. However, news suddenly arrived from the front line that the situation had changed again, and the war had been averted. The captives were overjoyed, as they no longer had to face death on the front lines. Yet the officers' gaze remained cruel; they remembered the "crimes" of the captives and ordered them to be captured again for interrogation. Those people fell back into despair.This is Miklós Jancsó's first feature film, imbued with strong Hungarian characteristics. It has a realistic tone, calm and simple, yet silently integrates formalism. Due to the specific social environment of the time, like many Eastern European films, its intention of using history to reflect the present is very obvious—the army's methods of coercing prisoners are very similar to the actions of the Hungarian regime in the 1960s.Of course, as a debut work, The Hopeless Ones also showcases Jancsó's unique characteristics. For example, the camera moves in a Jancsó-style between several characters, effectively enhancing the film's fluidity and sense of space, which he would often use in his later works. In terms of theme, several of Jancsó's subsequent films, like The Hopeless Ones, focus on the most turbulent historical periods of Hungarian society at the end of the 19th century or the beginning of the 20th century. However, this often leads to interpretative barriers for those unfamiliar with Hungarian history (which may be the majority of the audience).