''Cantata'' (''Oldás és kötés''; lit. "Loosening and Tightening") is a 1963 Hungarian drama film directed by

Miklós Jancsó Miklós Jancsó (; 27 September 192131 January 2014) was a Hungarian people, Hungarian film director and screenwriter. Jancsó achieved international prominence starting in the mid-1960s with works including ''Szegénylegények, The Round-Up'' ...

and starring

Zoltán Latinovits Zoltán Latinovits (9 September 1931, in Budapest – 4 June 1976, in Balatonszemes) was a Hungarian actor. Early life His mother divorced his father Oszkár Latinovits in 1941 and married István Frenreisz, a medical doctor, with whom she ha ...

Andor Ajtay Andor Ajtay (1903–1975) was a Hungarian Kossuth Prize-winning (1954) actor. Selected filmography * '' Lady Seeks a Room'' (1937) * ''I Defended a Woman'' (1938) * '' Two Girls on the Street'' (1939) * '' Unknown Opponent'' (1940) * '' Sile ...

and

Gyula Bodrogi Gyula Bodrogi (born 15 April 1934) is a Hungarian television and film actor. Selected filmography * ''Sleepless Years'' (1959) * ''Young Noszty and Mary Toth'' (1960) * ''Cantata'' (1963) * ''Twenty Hours'' (1965) * '' Three Nights of Love'' ...

Plot

After witnessing a senior doctor about whom he had doubts, bring back a patient from cardiac arrest, a young doctor with

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

roots comes to question his whole life when the doctor collapses from the struggle. Feeling that his progress from peasant's son to city doctor was made too smoothly, without a need to struggle or learn about life, and has made him arrogant and lonely, he comes to realise he has become gradually estranged from his own class and background after he returns to visit his hometown.

Cast

as Járom Ambrus dr. *

as Ádámfy professzor *

Béla Barsi Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá may refer to: Places in the Cze ...

as Ambrus apja *

Miklós Szakáts Miklós Szakáts (30 April 1920 – 22 October 1984) was a Hungarian actor. He appeared in more than forty films from 1943 to 1969. Selected filmography References External links * 1920 births 1984 deaths Hungarian male film acto ...

as Docens *

as Kiss Gyula *

Edit Domján Edward Ma, known professionally as edIT, is an American electronic music producer and DJ based in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Glitch Mob. History After growing up in Boston, Edward Ma began his career as a DJ and got into music product ...

as Márta, Ambrus szerelme *

Mária Medgyesi Mária is a Hungarian and Slovak form of Maria (given name) or Mary (given name). As of December 2020, Mária is the most common female given name in Slovakia. With over 193 thousands Slovak women bearing the name, it has a substantial lead over ...

as Eta * Gyöngyvér Demjén as Fiatal lány

Analysis

The English title comes from ''

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

Cantata Profana ''Cantata Profana'' (subtitled ''A kilenc csodaszarvas'' 'The Nine Enchanted Stags'' Sz. 94) is a work for tenor, baritone, double mixed chorus and orchestra by the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. Completed on 8 September 1930, it was premier ...

,'' whose story, heard as a radio broadcast in the film, echoes the conflict within the young doctor. It relates to nine sons raised by their father only to hunt, who know nothing of work, and spend all their time in the forest. The nine boys were turned magically into stags and, although recognised by their father, their altered natures mean they cannot return to live in their home.

References

External links

* 1963 drama films 1963 films Films directed by Miklós Jancsó 1960s Hungarian-language films Hungarian drama films {{Hungary-film-stub