The Cannes Jury Prize was shared by The Falcons and The Strawberry Statement in 1970. The film enjoyed critical acclaim abroad but was received at home with less enthusiasm. This could be due to the fact that Current was considered the pinnacle of Gaál's work, leaving The Falcons to be regarded as a contemplative and symbolic chamber drama.
The film adaptation of Miklós Mészöly's work is set on a falconry. Lilik, the head of the falconry played by the talented György Bánffy, is a crazed fanatic who governs the farm according to his own rules and notions. This is the way things are done, and this is how we do them. No matter how illogically, Lilik is constructing an ideology. He disambiguates the meanings of freedom and order. And the nature of falcons. “It all comes down to the length of the leash. If the leash is too long, it's all over. The falcon cannot live with freedom. […] The leash is the framework, order, security.”
The film's visual power extends beyond the cinematography as István Gaál and camera operator Elemér Ragályi employ colouring techniques here for the first time. This was not altogether common as colouring is much more than a mere technology – the colours call for a new style of composition where a new language is created. Perhaps the critics of the time also needed to grasp this new language. When evaluating the film, they still considered black and white to be the authentic hue of an art film. From this perspective, the late 60s and early 70s is an iconic period – only a few years would elapse before Hungarian cinema finally established itself in colour too...

The series is made possible by the Hungarian National Digital Archive and Film Institute (MaNDA)

Presented by: Müpa Budapest