CANTATA

Oldás és kötés

Director Miklós Jancsó / 1963 / Hungary

A young surgeon feels his life has come to an impasse. The deeply humane feelings of an elder colleague make apparent to him the emptiness of his own existence. He recognizes that his concern for humanity is a sham. So, he ponders on the reasons that made him strive to become a doctor, and turn from a poor peasant's son into a selfish and rigid personality.

Dr Jarom's path to the university and then to different clinics has been smooth and untroubled. All doors were opened to him, and he took full advantage of the possibilities for advancement. Yet, he realizes that for the sake of his career he refused to face any problems or simply passed them by without noticing they existed. So he remained silent when his girl-friend was unjustly expelled from the university, and immersed himself in his studies. His past weighs upon the present, and he withdraws from the society that has welcomed him and made possible his successful career. His friends no longer satisfy him, and the intellectual discussions on art and the problems of life that he once enjoyed now seem to him empty. As his self-confidence disappears, he begins to learn the meaning of responsibility.

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