"Hungarofilm presents:" "THE WITNESS" "Cast" "Photography and music" "Written and directed by Péter Bacsó" "Speak to the forlorn poor with the mouth of a ruminating calf" "Chew into their hearts: they need not be heroes if they can't be" "Attila József" "For instance, József Pelikán, dam- keeper, never wanted to be a hero" "Hungary, 1949" "LONG LIVE OUR GREAT, WISE LEADER!" "Chappie, not there, you!" "Józsi , they're dividing meat!" "Meat!" "People, we're out, see you next week!" "There's nothing else to do." "We will kill Desirée." "Must we?" "Coat those ration cards in breadcrumbs." "These are beuty, huh?" "Are you gone crazy?" "What are you doing?" "Poor Desirée." "He has to die." " Now?" " Tonight." "And Desirée died" "I think we can start." "Pull it my girl." "Alright." "Hold this." "Hold this!" "That's it." "Then practice like hell, for God's sake!" "Close it!" "Come on!" "Hurry up!" "Fast!" "Comrades, strike your picks in deep" "The brawny Workers' Brigade strides forth" "The sound resounds proudly from our lips" "Stalin's new song of joy" " Where's your father?" " At a seminar." " At this hour?" "!" " He's at the dam all day." " And these here?" " It's a patrol meeting, report!" "I report, the eight members of the Pelikán patrol ready for choir practice." "Listen to me son, have you got a pig?" "We don't even have swill to feed it." "We'll be back." "Run along my girl to the kitchen and fetch me the garlic." "Alright I'll do the rest, Gizi, alright." "Don't eat that greaves, or you'll ruin your stomach!" "You will get cheesed of!" "How slow you are little girl..." "Listen, what was that?" " Wasn't it the dog?" " No." "If no, then all right." "A poacher on the horizon..." "Hello, Chappie!" "Hello, Józsi!" "Freedom, Comrade Dániel!" "What, why so surprised?" "I've come to do a bit of fishing." "I've not been at the Danube for 4 years." "So I noticed." "What're the news around you?" "The woman?" "She ran off with bargee." "With a Romanian." "Well, yes." "And the children?" "Fine." "Aren't you married yet, Comrade Dániel?" "Why so formal with me, Józsi?" " How should I speak to a minister?" " Don't pull my tails!" "We together are really..." "So don't be silly with the formalities or I'll get angry." "Sit down!" " What's the mood like around you?" " Well..." "I read that it's excellent." " Where did you read that?" " In the Mood Report." "Then it must be excellent!" "Hold on!" "Gophers are the dam's most dangerous enemies." "A moment, wait a second!" "What the hell?" "Is that a gopher hole?" "Pour it down, Zoltán!" "Hold it!" "The kids will be pleased, they get two forints tail at a depot." "Watch out it's coming!" "Here is another one!" "Hold it up for a moment" "Now the other one." "God damn it!" " Where are you going Zoltán?" " My stick!" "Zoltán watch out!" "What a big fool I am, it must have been a fantastic catfish!" "Promise not to tell anyone I lost the world's biggest catfish." "Sworn!" "I swear!" "You heard nothing, saw nothing." "Come kids, come on!" "Leave me Józsi, I got to go a Council of Minister meeting..." "How can I?" "Shut up!" "Lie down!" "To get here pneumonia!" "Make a hot tea for him!" " Hurry up Gizi, beat some life into him!" " I'll try" "Ahh, this feels good, thank you Gizi." "What "shush"?" "How dare to take liberties?" "Where's that pig, now I'll get rough!" "Not so loud, comrades, or you'll wake the comrade minister." "Aaa, "Comrade Minister"!" "Talk like that will land you in jail." "Isn't illegal slaughtering enough, without abusing leading comrades, you fool?" "!" " Do as you like!" " House search, start it!" " What's going on, comrades?" " Who are you, comrade?" "Have you never seen me before?" "Report!" "I report to Comrade Minister, it's a house search." "József Pelikán has been reported for illegal pig-slaughtering." "Proceed with your search, comrades, reports are sacred." " Put everything back in place." " Understood!" "And note one thing well!" "We have enough enemies." "You shouldn't hassle the honest workers." "You happen to mole József Pelikán's peaceful home?" "Have you taken leave of your senses?" "But he was reported." "What do you mean, reported?" "What if someone reported you for drug smuggling or bank robbery?" "Nine out of ten reports are poppycock." "I report, I don't understand." "This was a serious anonymous report, typewritten." "Listen you... comrade" "Do you know who is that József Pelikán?" "Do you know what sacrifice he made for us?" "Skip it, Zoltán" "No, Józsi, no!" "The comrades must know who they're pestering!" "Give me fire." "Now listen," "This man in 1944, ...was beaten and kicked by detectives in this very room." "And do you know why?" "To make him give us away." "A word from him to say: they are here, because we were down here in the cellar!" "Zoltán, leave it." "No, no." "We heard him being tortured, but he kept quiet." "He kept us five weeks here, underground." "You ought to take your caps off to him with respect." "He hid us here, in this very place, look at here!" "Comrades perform your duty." "The law applies to everyone, a hundred times more so for communists." "I see." " Meanwhile, we'll drench this with petrol." " Must we?" "Yes, this is material proof, it has to be appended to the criminal evidence." "If we wouldn't drench, what left for the trial?" "!" " What's this, dad?" " Be very good." " Let's go!" " Farewell kids." "Don't bear it against me, Jóska, I couldn't do different." "Just no whoring." "I'll send back your suit." "I think I won't need it urgently." "It's Mr. Pelikán!" "An aquaintance at last." "These are false, Mr. Gulyás." "Nicely done." "Did I knock out the originals?" "The kids swept them off the floor." "Now I'll get my own back, Mr. Gulyás." "Open your mouth, you torturer!" "Don't hurt me Mr. Pelikán, you can see I'm paying the penalty." "Must I lose my teeth here, too?" " What did you get?" " Eight years." "We'll wait for them." "But then..." "That wouldn't be the right thing Mr Pelikán." "This was my trade, after all." "I never bore any personal grudge." "You think wouldn't I be useful to this regime?" "Has it such experienced people nowadays?" "They managed to detect me all right." "Yesterday I did an illegal pig-slaughtering." "Today I'm already here." "Express work, eh?" "Was there punch-up?" "We can get on quite well without you, thanks." "Did you confess, holy Father?" "Kiss his hand, you never know!" "Why are you here, my son?" "He's not a political, Your Grace." "A common criminal: illegal slaughtering." "Everything is politics, my son." "I shall pray for you." "On the third day, Pelikán was allowed visitors..." "Hello!" " How are you doing at home?" " Everyone's fine." " And the dam?" " No problems." " The water level?" " It rose two centimeters." "You're not home in evenings, huh?" "Yes, I am." "Be careful, so the little ones won't see your whoring." "Don't worry father, they won't." "Have you met the lawyer?" "Imagine dad, uncle Dániel sent his driver to see how we were." "He returned the suit and said he'd visit us one day." "Very decent, but what about the lawyer?" "He said he'll do all he can." "What will I get?" "It depends, because it can be just a fine or it can be the worst, well, so death." "You see the question is, if they want to set an example." "What?" "Death?" "The setting an example is the point, that how daddy will get the punishment." "Charming!" "What else did he say?" "Don't be surprised if he asks for severe punishment, at the trial." "Who?" "The defence lawyer?" "It would be different if you were a rich kulak but as you're a party member and the lawyer isn't... socialist law..." "What's that about socialist law?" "Think!" "Well, setting an example is the main thing." "And don't worry." "All right." "Give them my love, take care of yourselves." "Guard the dam and watch out for moles and gophers." "Is socialism still stands still, Pelikán?" "Have I got to bash your head in after all, Gulyás?" "You could live a few nice years more." "We Hungarians should love each other." "You've got high-up friends." "Put in a word for me, it's a pity to let me waste here." "Sod off, Gulyás." "I'm serious." "I could name one or two people out to get you lot." "Isn't one of them called Csetneki?" "I'm saying nothing, but if you'd put in a good word for me..." "Shut up!" "What's for supper today?" "Noodles again." "Noodles?" "If only they'd pour some oniony gravy over them." "The food was far better in our day." "You just shut up Gulyás." "I had my fill of your food." "József Pelikán, you're coming with me, bring your things." "Condemned cell?" "Comrade Pelikán, you are free." " Free?" " As a bird." "Congratulations." " And the pig?" " What pig?" "Desirée." "There is no pig and there have never been." "You are innocent, all charges are dropped." "I understand, but I really stabbed that pig to the heart, so I'm rightfully here." "No arguments!" "You're innocent and that's that, orders from above." "Anyway, you should improve the food." "Why all the crappy reactionaries says that in the prison of democracy the supply is bad?" "It's ain't that good outside, either, but there at least a man is more self-conscious." "Tell us, all your bones are intacted?" "You've lost weight." "Then who was the scum who informed on you?" "I'd have got ten years, but if someone's pally with a minister..." "Did you report me, Csetneki?" "Did you report me, Csetneki?" "Leave me alone Pelikán." "Because it's clear as a punch-up, that you reported me in 1942." "What if I discovered a thing or two about you?" " Such as what, my friend?" " You sent the village lads to Germany." "That's no secret my friend." "And you wore such a lovely Fascist armband." "I was only a small-time Fascist, they were exonerated." "Yeah?" "No one asked me." "Now get out of here." "You've no right to do that, my friend." "Rights?" "Get out before I punch you out, though I'm a peaceful man." "Get out!" "Very well, Pelikán." "But you're in for a big surprise." " József Pelikán?" " Yes." "This is my daughter" " What's in that parcel?" " A duck." "Pelikán is here." "Please take a seat." " Is Zoli Dániel in?" " Wait a moment, please." " Yes?" "You can go in now." " Yes." "Gizi, come back." "What are you doing?" "Good day!" "What are you waiting for?" " We're looking for Comrade Dániel" " He's not here." " Is he out?" " I don't know." " When will he be in?" " I don't know." " Is he abroad?" " I don't know." "Could you say if he's still minister here?" "I don't know." "Are you József Pelikán from Szigetnádasd 1 Trebich Nándor Street?" "Postcode: 7649." "Right?" "That's right." "I wanted to thank Comrade Dániel for his kindness." " Leave the parcel here." " Yes." "Then we can go." "Tell me, is there any ice here?" "We have, you can go." "Could you put it..." "Pelikán doesn't understand a thing." "And one night a big, black car comes for him..." "Where are we going?" "Are you going to hang me?" "Go on, tell me." "We all have to die some time." "Even you, boys." "Were your mothers dumb, too?" "Do I have to go up?" "God be with you, boys." "No gossiping about this." " Welcome, Comrade Pelikán!" " Good evening." "Aren't you hungry?" "We could have dinner together." "I've had supper, but I could eat a little something." "You may serve dinner, Comrade Goglák." "Those Christmases of childhood, right, Comrade Pelikán?" " What will you drink?" " Me?" "More or less everything." "If you leave the choice to me." "Cheers!" "You look well, Comrade Pelikán." "The Danube air." "You look well, too, comrade." " Oh, this office work withers on away." " Yes." " Good appetite." " Thank you very much." " Is this all mine?" " Go ahead, calmly." "Sucking-pig isn't bad, right, Comrade Pelikán?" " Comrade Virág, I confess everything" " Easy now." "I slaughtered the pig." "We can wipe that out." "Say nothing, we know everything, anyway." "That's all right, then." "This jacket was made in 1938." "English material, 85 percent wool." "How do you know this?" "They don't make such material nowadays." "Shoulders a little over-padded, but good lapels." "Do eat some more." "Won't Comrade Virág eat anything?" "I will peck..." "My stomach... but you go ahead." "It's good to encounter an old warrior." " It's a pity we didn't meet earlier." " It's a pity." "You see, Comrade Pelikán, one day we're going to ask something of you." " What will you ask?" " All in good time." "We'll be meeting again." "Suppose I dropped in on you with my family one day." " To me?" " To make friends." "To get to know each other, we're two good, old comrades after all." "The problem is, I can't produce such a supper." "No need to guzzle all the time!" "All I can say is, Comrade Pelikán, the international situation is intensifying." "Intensifying?" "It's good to know." "One must never forget that!" "I won't." "One day, Pelikán took the children out for ice-cream..." "Boys, boys!" "My sons are passionate photographers, and your old warrior's family..." "Greetings!" "Greetings!" "Dad, we don't have any food at home!" "I'd gladly invite you to supper, but we've nothing but potatoes." "We could do baked potatoes, couldn't we?" "Excellent." "But let's walk with the children first." "Well, if that's what you fancy, then walk." "This one here is the biggest rascal from all!" "How ingenious our people are!" "I envy you, Comrade Pelikán." "Potato." "The word reminds me of something." "Doesn't the word potato ring a bell, Comrade Pelikán?" "No, Comrade Virág." "Take a good look at me." "Doesn't it stir memories?" "I've got it!" "1945, you shared out potatoes!" "You didn't have a moustache then." "You made a fine speech." "As you stood in front of the railway wagon a door opened and the potatoes poured on top of you." "We struggled to pull you out, you could hardly breathe!" "We were grateful to you." "In those days there was no grub here at all." "Well, don't let's sentimentalise." "We can wipe that out." " Is that the guest room, isn't it?" " It is." "You last had a guest three weeks ago." "Zoli Dániel." "He was in that bed after he jumped into the river." "Fell in, more like." "He was shivering like a jelly." "How did you know?" "No matter." "But just remember this, Comrade Pelikán:" "Sucking-pig or potatoes, the class struggle is intensifying." "I see." "No more ammunition, comrade Colonel!" "But I still have two hand-grenades!" "Grant permisson to use it!" "I'd rather you didn't." "Just hold on a moment." "Bursting paper bugs again, weren't you?" "Why and they're allowed to make bangs?" "!" "He's got a mania for paper bags." "Don't cry, boy." "You'll live to see a jollier, happier world." "What are you doing?" " Sorry, Comrade Virág." "Not at all." "Not at all." "How ever it happened, we fought back." "I want to say that it's inconceivable, criminal that an old warrior like you mess about guarding dams." "I'm quite happy where I am, Comrade Virág." "Your place is in a responsible, leading position." "What are you good at?" "At nothing." "Dam-keeping, gopher catching." "I'm ideologically ill-qualified." "I rule that beyond discussion!" "Do you love our great, wise leader?" "Of course!" "Then there can't be any problems." "So Pelikán became the swimming-pool director..." " Why are they waiting?" " Who are you?" "The new director." "Have they got tickets?" "They have." " Then why don't you let them in?" " It's not possible... they are swimmig in there." "I can't understand, speak louder!" " What?" " This way." "Have they got tickets?" "Stop whispering." "I've been sent here to create order." "May I see your ticket?" "Don't gawp at me, just give me your ticket." "And you let the others in." "The pool is for workers to swim in it." "Don't be funny, I asked to see your ticket, not your gun." "You there, have you got a ticket?" "I'm talking to you, are you deaf?" "Treason!" " Back again?" " Shut up!" "The regime can thrive without me, too." "Not for long." " Why do you think?" " The Americans are coming." "Truman on a white horse?" "We heard that already don't you know anything new?" "Yes, your pals are jailing each other." " What?" "What did you say?" " Don't play." "It's even in the papers." " God brought you, my son." " And a black car, holy Father." " Do you have any news?" " About what?" "That how long this is all going to last?" "I don't want to alarm you, but it'll last quite a while yet." "And the God of the Hungarians allows it." "So it seems." "What's for lunch?" "Noodles." "Noodles?" "!" "We mustn't eat the seed-corn of the future, though I wouldn't mind a bite." " József Pelikán." " Here." "Bring your things." "I'm terribly sorry about that affair, Comrade Virág but I did warn you that I'm ideologically ill-qualified." "If Comrade Bastion had been swimming in his general's uniform then I'd have recognized him for sure and I'd have protected him from the splashing crowd." "But in those trunks he looked so weird..." "perhaps it was the light, right?" "He has already forgiven you." "We've arrested the ticket-collector, he was responsible." "It wasn't his fault, I didn't know the party line." "The collector's mother was the mistress of a mill-owing kulak." "He's confessed." "As a matter of fact, I'd like to go back to the dam." "Not a chance, Comrade Pelikán." "One day we'll ask something of you." "Then please ask it." "In good time." "I can't handle the tension." "Just a moment, Comrade Goglák" "Isn't that a new skirt, right?" "It is, Comrade Virág." "It's short, sexuality is an opiate of the decadent west." "We have no need of it." "Am I not right, Comrade Pelikán?" "Understood, Comrade Virág." "Hard, very hard." "You will have to guard a vulnerable outpost of cultural progress." "A political and ideological reorientation." "Must it be me?" "When we are absent, the enemy is present." "You are now director of the English Park." ""English Park"?" "Why "English Park"?" "That's what it's called, does it matter?" "Why English?" "Why not Gaiety Park, or Fun Park?" "This is it." "You grasped the problem by the throat, comrade Pelikán." "English Park?" "So the English imperialists can snigger at us?" "Not bloody likely!" "Gaiety Park, that's what the workers want." "So Pelikán became the director of the gaiety park." "He set to work enthusiastically..." "GAIETY PARK" "LONG LIVE OUR WISE LEADER!" "From today, the ghost train will be known as The Socialist Ghost Train" "We'll get rid of the skeletons and old junk and replace them with portraits of our leaders, especially Comrade Bastion." "What about the shrieks and rattling bones?" "They can stay." "Won't people be scared by Comrade Bastion?" "So what?" "Comrade Virág said the class struggle is intensifying!" "If anyone has something to hide, let him shit into his pants on the ghost train of socialism!" "Don't you agree, comrades?" "THE SOCIALIST GHOST TRAIN" "DOWN WITH BOURGEOUIS PSEUDO-CULTURE!" "THE FORGER OF OUR VICTORY" "A SPECTRE IS HAUNTING EUROPE" "WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT OUR CHAINS" "THE FORGER OF OUR VICTORY" "Here's some water, beloved Comrade Bastion." "Imbecile!" "Tell me if I've gone wrong, beloved Comrade Bastion." "I know I've a lot to learn." " How do you stand?" " How do I stand?" " Attention!" " Attention." " Take him away!" " Good day." " God gave it." "Father, I don't know what's wrong with me, but nothing goes right for me nowadays." "But I'm full with the best of intentions, I misunderstand the party line." "And the water level keeps rising." "Don't fret, my son." "Have a cigar." "Ajve, are you making offers too, Father?" "Come on, I got it from them." "And you dared to run down our prisons." ""Our prisons"!" "Keep quiet, foolish man." ""Our prisons" when they're always locking you up." "One can learn from that, too." "Even if it's only by disputing with highly respected clerical reaction." "I'm excited!" " Ohh, shush Pelikán." " Why?" "A dam-keeper having the opportunity to talk politics with a bishop!" "It's a question of backbone, Gulyás." " Yours will be broken once." " I think you're wrong, Gulyás." "Excuse me." "I may be an idiot, but there's no going back on things." "The bishop's angry because he's lost his land and his schools." "Aren't I right?" "Can't you shut up?" "It's a stroke of luck you're locked up in here." "You'd have a fit if you saw how our country is being rebuilt." "I'm not interested." "The bishop would hate to see peasant deserting church for factory." "Are you agitating here in prison?" "Aren't I right, Father?" "Let's not talk politics." "What's for supper?" "Noodles and potatoes." "You see, things are improving!" "Don't experiment with me any more, Comrade Virág." "Let me go back to the dam, the Danube's rising." "Life is not a whipped-cream cake, Pelikán." "I grow weary, too, sometimes." "I am a human too." "There's many a sleepless night nowadays, Comrade Pelikán." "Drink a beer before going to bed, you'll sleep like a log." "Sleeplessness must be awful." "It really won't be long before we ask something of you, my dear comrade." "Please, spit it out." "Patience." "The right move at the right time." "Until then, a new watchpost, Comrade Pelikán." "Mercy." "I'm a complete idiot." "One must build up self-confidence." "Do you like..." "Our wise leader?" "I was thinking of oranges." "Do you like them?" "What sort?" "Oranges in general." "A citrus fruit." "I'm sure I like them, I've not had one for twenty years." "ORANGE RESEARCH INSTITUTE" " Here you are." " Thank you very much." "At last we can begin experiments in Hungary." "We could put others in that corner, there's a warm breeze." "The crop was not big, but the only ripe orange... was diligently guarded until the opening ceremony..." "FORWARD FOR THE HUNGARIAN ORANGE!" "Show me your hands, Pisti." " You didn't eat that orange, did you?" " I did!" "Your God damn mother!" "He, I thought it was here to eat." "But not you!" "You've ruined me, you rascal!" "What shall I do now, the dogs God damn it!" "Comrade Virág, my son's eaten the orange." "What shall we do?" "Take it easy." "Here you are" " That's a lemon." " Orange!" " Lemon!" " I rule that beyond discussion!" "What's this?" "Orange." " Orange?" "!" " The new Hungarian orange." "Slightly yellower, slightly sharper, but it's our own." "Gala performance in Honour of the Orange Researchers..." "Heroes of the Battle of the Orange" "We've won." "It was worth it, wasn't it?" "You see, Pelikán, it's good to be sitting on our laurels." "I feel a little bad about it, though." "Why do we make such a fuss over it?" "We deceived the people, after all." "Who did we deceive?" "Ourselves?" "We know what it's all about." "The researchers?" "They're happy to have medals." "The masses?" "They don't eat oranges or lemons, but they're happy to celebrate." "The imperialists?" "We've given them a thorough beating." "I wouldn't like to be in their shoes." "We proclaimed a slogan:" "Let there be a Hungarian orange!" "And there was." "We made no empty promise, Pelikán." "That night the big, black car came for Pelikán again..." "You're not exatly a chatterbox." "How are things, Comrade Pelikán?" "Should I know?" "Do sit down." "One eye weeps, the other twinkles." "You know what I'm thinking about?" "I've no idea what you're thinking about." "The international situation is intensifying." "We've caught up with the latest group of inner-parasites." " Another new group?" " Dániel and his group." " Dániel who?" " Zoltán Dániel, the ex-minister." "You know him, too." "Of course I do." "Zoli Dániel and his gang, that's a good one!" "Why are you laughing, you fool?" "The whole thing." "You comrades even spare time for such a joke." "This is no joke!" "Zoltán Dániel is a soy, a traitor, a Fascist police informer." "It's a scandal that he evaded our vigilance for so long." "I may be an idiot, but I don't believe it." "I know Dániel." "You know him!" "What difference does that make?" "You don't really know your own self." "And if I tell you he's confessed everything?" "Confessed everything..." "How do you mean everything?" "Now just get prepared for it." "You'll be the star witness." "For what, for heaven's sake?" "Begin from the fact that Dániel is a spy, traitor, informer." "Now, do you still see nothing suspicious in his behaviour?" "Not even if you crucify me." "Couldn't you ask a better qualified comrade?" "Not a chance." "Think over what happened when Dániel last visited you." "Nothing." "Something must have." "He fished, we caught gophers, he fell in the river, then I took him home to the spare room." "You found nothing suspicious in all that?" "Didn't he swear you to something?" " Swear me something?" " Think, now." "He made me swear to tell no one he'd lost a fantastic catfish." "There you are, then." "This is it!" "Are you sure it was a catfish?" "What else could it have been?" "All sorts of things." "That's the whole point." "Spies don't work in a way to arouse suspicion, on the contrary." "The suspicious thing about them is that they're not suspicious." "Got it now, Pelikán?" "No." "The suspicious thing about them is that they're not suspicious?" "Exactly." " I'm not suspicious, but I'm not a spy." " How do you know?" "Is it possible that I'm a spy?" "Everything is possible." "Many things may be possible with you, if you don't stand steadfast." "I see..." "I mean, I don't see at all." "Couldn't you leave me out of this, Comrade Virág?" "As you wish." "What do you want?" "Why are you harassing Comrade Pelikán?" "He's our friend." "Aren't you, Comrade Pelikán?" "Iced cakes." "For the moment, all we ask of you is to collect your thoughts." "I'll collect them, Comrade Virág." "But let me go back to the dam, it'll soon be high water." "Go back, by all means, we'll watch over you." "But remember: those who don't trust in us, don't trust in themselves." "Those who don't trust in us, don't trust in our bright future, either." "And those who don't trust in our happy, bright future... are traitors." "Thank you very much." "It's impossible." "Incredible." "What's the matter, dad?" "Iced cakes." " I don't get it, am I that crazy?" " You?" " Zoltán Dániel confessed everything." " Everything?" " Everything." " A pity." "Good God, do you know something?" "Were you in it, too?" "In what?" "The dog's God damn you, how did you get mixed up with that poor devil?" " In the spare room." " When?" "When he was last here." " But he was in bed" " I was in bed, too." "Good God!" "You said dad to beat some life into him." "He felt cold I felt pity for him, so I got in with him to the bed to warm him up." "How could you?" "Nothing happened, we only talked." "He asked if I'd read a Clara Zetkin and whether I was studying hard." " Nothing else happened?" " No, I was surprised, too." "Think." "Did nothing else happen?" "Honest, it didn't, I'd remember." "Wasn't there anything suspicious about Dániel?" "No, except that there we were in the bed and we just talked." "There." "Eat it." "The suspicious things are those that aren't suspicious." "Even God Almighty doesn't understand that." "The suspicious things..." "are those that aren't suspicious." "Dániel." "Zoli Dániel." "Pelikán pondered the matter all night." "At dawn he slept, but his cigarette burned on..." "My poor friend, I heard what happened." "The international situation is intensifying." "That's burnt out." "I rule that beyond discussion, but did it burn by accident, I wonder?" "It was no accident." "The fire brigade didn't come, even though I gave the alarm." "My poor friend, life is not a whipped-cream cake." "We give blows and we get blows." "Stand up to a line!" "Prepare the hose!" "Prepare to fire-fight!" "We're here, Józsi." "I don't want to sow suspicion, but didn't Csetneki bring them a bit late?" "We'll look into the matter." "Ask the comrade to come here." "I've got a question to ask, comrade." "The house is burnt, I rule that beyond discussion but weren't you tardy with the extinguishing, Comrade Csetneki?" " No." " So then?" "Confidential orders:" "vigilance must come first." "We get many calls, first we have to check every one of them." "We must see we're not misled." "That takes time." "That's true." " May I go?" " Dismissed." "A strong hand." "Resolution." "Yes, that's the spirit." "Comrade Virág, would it surprise you to know that Csetneki's a Fascist?" "My poor friend, your nerves are shattered, I should keep tabs on you." "But now the house is most important." "It will be rebuilt, better than it was before." "The sky's the limit." "Do you know who said that, Comrade Pelikán?" "I can guess." "THE SKY'S THE LIMIT" "SUPREME EFFORT TO REBUILD THE DIKE-KEEPER'S HOUSE" "No sand?" "Then make some my comrade!" "I want sand!" "I rule that beyond discussion my comrade." "And I expect gravel, too." "Scrumptious!" "Comrade Virág!" "No door?" "No window?" "Where are we going?" "Your testimony will be ready today." "Quite frankly, I'm rather nervous about it, too." "I have a request." "Be very discreet." "If you don't like something, tell me." "Comrade Tuschinger is very sensitive, the artistic type." "I've finished it." "You can read it." " Are you Pelikán?" " I am." "Read it." "I envy you." " Where have you got to?" " The frogmen." " Do you like it?" " Very much so far." "No clichés." "I rewrote it five times." " Well?" " Very beautiful." " I've got to say all this?" " Naturally, you're the star witness, aren't you." "I can take criticism, so let's have your objections, my good man." "Excuse me, this isn't my line and I'm an ideological beginner but it's just silly, that Dániel was throwing tins containing his spy reports into the Danube..." "What did he throw, then?" "Eeaster eggs?" "Gophers." "I know, because I cut off their tails first, for the kids." "Who's interested in that?" "It's pure naturalism." "What else?" "It also seems that Comrade Dániel jumped into the Danube and talked to enemy frogmen under water about the murder of our great leader and other comrades but in fact he fell in trying to catch a catfish." " Did you see the fish?" " No." "Your criticism is baseless, I insist on the frogmen." "Your opinion, Comrade Virág?" "I think, the frogmen are good." "Maybe we could change the tins." "Change it?" "All right, but you tell me how." "Perhaps I'm saying something silly..." "but what would you say if we keep the tins, but covering them with gopher skins?" "That might be more credible." "Not bad, you've got a literery streak." "Why don't you write?" "There are people much better than me." "I'll rewrite the gophers." "Any more objections?" "If I may say so, the secret transmitter business in my spare room..." "I might remember wrong, but he was soaked to the skin, his teeth were chattering." "So I put him to bed under the eiderdown" "Why, you can't transmit from under the eiderdown?" "But I know something else." "My daughter Gizi got in with him." "No question of a transmitter." "Ugh, that's pure pornography." "Any more objections?" "None." "Strength and health, Comrade Bastion." " Is it ready?" " Yes, Comrade Bastion." "What's this?" "People don't even want to murder me any more?" "Do I worth crap nowadays?" "!" "The previous trial..." "I didn't want to repeat myself." "But I'll correct it." ""After our wise leader, Comrade Bastion was to be murdered."" "Will that do?" "Yes." "Otherwise I like it." "So do I. It cost many a sleepless night, we wanted to avoid stereotypes." "Modesty!" "Don't flatter yourself." "Modesty!" "If there's anything I admire in myself, it's modesty." "Who's that fat fellow?" "Pelikán, the star witness." "Comrade Bastion, I'm just a simple dam-keeper." " I've seen you before" " The swimming-pool, I was arrested." "Then English Park, arrested again." "Then the orange grove, an award." "But I've a bad feeling now." "I don't want to be a witness." "You don't want to?" "Then why are you here?" "I don't know either." "I should be on the dam." "It's no good, Virág, we must have voluntary witnesses." "Understand?" "Undertood." "Good-bye, Béla" "You're leaving us?" "Comrade Virág, please don't leave me here." "Comrade Virág, I didn't mean any harm." "To the cemetery." "I didn't mean to get at you." "No!" "Beloved Comrade Virág, because of me?" "Not just you." "We sacrifice our entire lives for you people but you don't deserve us:" "heartless rabble." "And that's putting it mildly." "I admit I'm an ignorant dimwit, but please don't kill yourself." "Just give me a little lecture, so I can know what it's all about." "It's about truth which is being trodden underfoot." "I don't want to tread on anyone, but I saw with my own eyes." "With your own eyes, is that it?" "What you see with blind eyes, hear with deaf ears?" "And a dull brain, do you think you can attain the truth of our great aims?" "Not I, Comrade Virág." "What bothered me is that I know Zoltán Dániel." "If I didn't know him it would be much easier to testify to his guilt." "Can there be any doubt?" "Show me one person in this lousy country whom I'm not able to prove guilty in five minutes: you, me, everyone!" "You may be right, but please put that gun away." "We shouldn't joke, we should act." "Look here, I could shoot you." "That's true." " Knock out your teeth" " You're a bit late for that." "I could sit you on a hot stove, shove electricity through your testicles." "Or simply starve you." "But have I ever harmed you, Pelikán?" "I always thought you were the sort of comrade who did what was entrusted to him of his own free will, happily, even." "I'm disappointed in you." "What's more, Comrade Bastion is disappointed in me." "In me, Árpád Virág." "Do you know what that means?" "I'm ready for anything, Comrade Virág." "Thank you... you have restored my faith." "Comrade Bastion, please." "I see." "I'll go there." "I'll report to Comrade Bastion." "Comrade Bastion was participating in the customary autumn shoots..." " Where's Comrade Bastion?" " At the second butt." " I've never fired a shot." " You'll soon learn." " Poor bunnies." " Moralizing again." "Jesus, Mary!" " Shouldn't we shoot back?" " Have you gone mad?" "How dare you?" "!" "Can't you see what they're doing?" "I thought we ought to signal that we're not rabbits." "Don't you agree, Comrade Virág?" "What did you say?" "Will my children get anything?" "It won't be just anyone who shoots me." "You?" "Must you disturb me now?" "I report Comrade Bastion, here is József Pelikán, evidence for the state." "He has accepted of his own free will, no pressure brought to bear." "The trial can be held." " Is that true?" " Yes, one tries to improve oneself." "It would have been a pity if you'd shot us." "Let's get on with it, then." "To work, comrades." "Like that." "Here's the material." " What type should he be?" " I'll leave you that to you, comrade." " You must have some idea." " You are the best judge, comrade." "Should he be full of self-reproach?" "Or perhaps naive, wondering?" "A simple child of the people." "That will be fine." "Chin up, Comrade Pelikán." "Work at it hard." "Been a witness before?" "Never." "Get up on the stage." "Recite a poem." "You most know one." "I'm a dam-keeper." "Think." "You must have learnt a poem in school." ""My mother's hen"" ""My mother's hen", by Sándor Petõfi." "On, mother's hen, what do I see?" "Are you living in my room with me?" "Well, to you God is good and kind giving you a life so grand." "Stop." "You've got a lisp." "No one ever said so." "You take it from me:" "a dreadful lisp." "Please don't say that." "Facts are stubborn things." "Say quickly: she sells sea shells on the sea shore." "Now this: swan swum over the sea." "I said you had a lisp." "Is that a big problem?" "It can be improved with hard work." "Now, let's take it from the start." "You get a character?" "A simple worker, maybe once an ill-treated waif." "But you have to decide that for yourself." " But I wasn't a waif." " Whatever." "The essence of the character is wide-eyed astonishment." "You put all your faith in someone, now you realize you've been deceived." "You should be seething with hatred." "Now start reading." "I met Dániel in 1942," "An aquaintance, Tivadar Galván..." "Introduced him as an illegal communist." "He and his friends needed a hiding place." "Much too passive, try to put some soul into it." "I'll try." "At that time I never guessed he was a Fascist police informer and a loathsome agent of the imperialists." "You should be seething." "Now recite it by heart." "At that time I never guessed..." "I can't remember, that I didn't guess." " Since when have you been forgetful?" " Since when what?" "Got it." "Sit down, please." "Thank you, comrades, I've taken the material over." "Repeat the following words in the same order:" "Ink-well, alligator, cornflower kiss, lathe, toothpick." "That wasn't too many." " No, not too many" " You try now." "Toothpick..." "From the beginning." "Toothpick." " Don't you remember more?" " Not at the moment." "Never mind." "Please lie down here, you'll fall asleep." "It'll be easier to concentrate in your sleep." "Can you fall asleep, or shall I apply hypnosis?" "I'll try on my own." "I met Zoltán Dániel in 1942," "An aquaintance, Tivadar Galván, introduced him to me." "The witness's heart, chest and hearing organs are generally satisfactory." "Though I should note he is extremely flat-footed." "I'm on my feet all the time." "That's no concern." "I'll prescribe a suitable shoe." "Wear it, or I can't accept responsibility." "Get dressed, that way!" "I think I've got it." "Hungarian worker, 1950." " How do you feel?" " In what way?" "With your new appearance." "I'm all right." "Comrade Virág, externally the witness is ready for the trial." "Potentially a perfect witness, Pelikán was allowed to visit home." "Meanwhile, the Danube had flooded and broken through the dam..." "I met Zoltán Dániel in 1942," "At that time  I never guessed he was a Fascist police informer." "She sells sea shells on the sea shore." "I met Zoltán Dániel in 1942..." "I haven't seen you for ages." "Well, yes, the international situation is intensifying." "What are you talking about?" "This bloody river is sweeping everything away." " What river?" " What river?" "!" "The Danube." "Your Danube!" "Yeah, comrades, life is not a whipped-cream cake." "Whipped-cream cake?" "Your whore aunt!" "Do you call that a whipped-cream cake?" "Something's not quite right here." "The day of the trial came round..." "We were waiting for you!" "Is everything all right?" "There's a flood." "Hard times, but we'll weather them, life is not a whipped-cream cake." "I know." " Why are you unshaven?" " My razor and suit are under water." "That wicked water." "But we won't leave it all that." "We've not worked all these weeks in vain, this is our day." "Appearances are important, too." "A job for the major, only shaving, not execution." "Straight to the witnesses' room." "Do you want to look through you evidence?" "No, I've rehearsed it so much." "A priest studies his breviary until his death." "You know who said that?" "Yes." "Give it to me." "We expect a very fine testimony from you." "Excuse me, but this is the sentence." "Oh, dear, those sleepless nights." "A horse has four legs and yet it stumbles." "That's true." "Sit here." " Cream or soap?" " Soap." " What size collar?" " 43 I think." " A strong neck." " What?" "Gulyás!" "I said hello already, Mr. Pelikán." "Why are you here?" "Don't jump around or I'll cut you." "Moderate yourself Pelikán, I'm here for the same reason as you, I'm a witness, too." "You are witness too?" "What sort of witness are you, Gulyás?" "Oh God." "There are things that only I can prove." "Don't joke here, I'm not in a mood for jokes." " The witness Elemér Gulyás." " Here!" "I understand." "The wretch knocked your teeth out, that's not nice." "You know that torturer?" "Just as you do." "He got me in the kidneys." "Both kidneys." "That was no folk festival, either." "Even nowadays I sometimes pass blood." "Poor Comrade Virág." "We don't have time to nurse individual wounds, when international situation is intensifying." "I've got butterflies in my stomach, Comrade Virág." "Stage-fright." "Take deep breaths, like this." "I've still got them." " The witness József Pelikán." " Here he is." "Courage." "And always watch me." "József Pelikán, you are a witness in the trial of Dániel and his group." "Do you bear any grudge against the defendant?" "We were more like friends." "The law punishes perjury." "Do you swear to tell the whole truth?" "How do you mean?" "Testify the truth only." "I'll try." " What is your name?" " József Pelikán." " Occupation?" " Originally a dam-keeper." "The flood has something to do with me." " That doesn't belong here" " Where then?" "I have your statement before me." "So you met Zoltán Dániel in 1942?" "Yes, I met Zoltán Dániel in 1942," "An aquaintance, Tivadar Galván introduced him..." "At that time I never guessed..." "Guessed what?" "That I'd meet a frogman." "Stop a moment, that came later." "Later." " Then let's look at the frogmen." " Let's." "What did they look like?" "What do you mean?" "Like frogs." "There were gophers, too but they were real." "Have you anything to add to your testimony?" "Nothing." "I mean, I have." "I'd like to ask the judge how this torturer got here." "I don't understand what you are talking about, József Pelikán!" "What don't you understand?" "!" "I'd like to ask how this bloodhound got here?" "And how come he's laughing in our faces?" "I wasn't laughing, the witness is hallucinating." "Hallucinating, your sweet good mother!" "I object to a Fascist torturer insulting me." "Order, please, Pelikán." "Do you maintain your testimony?" "Feeling ill, Comrade Virág?" "Pelikán, do you maintain your testimony?" "Because he's writhing." "Nagging shock." "Because this hangman ruined his kidneys." "Right, Comrade Virág?" "Sometimes he still passes blood." "Tell me to my face, you corpse producer, what lies did you tell about Zoli Dániel?" "The same thing you signed:" "Dániel was a paid informer." "You believe what this gorilla said?" "Your Honour, something's wrong here." "I may be an idiot, but everything's mixed up." "The flood's sweeping everything away, while this trash here..." "Zoli, say something." "Were you really this henchman's agent?" "Sit down." "Pelikán go back to your place." "Elemér Gulyás, tell the witness what you testified just now." "Zoltán Dániel was a paid informer for the Fascist police." "What did you say, you sod?" "I beg leave to amend my testimony." "Pelikán was a paid informer, too." "I paid him." "Dániel was an informer, so was Pelikán." "That's a good one!" "Me, a police informer!" "Look here, Your Honour:" "he knocked them out." "And who else was a police informer?" "Comrade Virág?" "Comrade Bastion?" "What?" "!" "Me?" "!" "Yes." "I heard it." "I don't understand." "We must look into it." "Yes, sir!" "Gulyás go to your place!" "József Pelikán, I ask you once more:" " Do you maintain your testimony?" " No." "You don't?" "I told you I didn't, are you deaf Your Honor?" "Pelikán returned to prison." "The days passed and the years..." "I'm afraid there's a hitch." "Rabbit's out of season but here's beef with dumplings, will that do?" "Just put it down." "Csopak Riesling?" "Out of stock." "I've brought St. George Hill, it's as strong." " Would you like some?" " I don't want to rob you." "After all..." "Tomorrow morning." "But go on, have some." "Cheers!" " Family?" " Eight." " It's not easy." " Well, that's true." " No, it's not easy." " It certainly isn't." "Good dumplings?" "I always recommend them to the condemned and they're always grateful." "They all like them, whatever their political views." "Of course, some can't eat at all, then I eat them myself." "Delicious dumplings shouldn't go to waste." "Do you want a priest?" "Not if I don't have to." "Of course." "I'm completely mixed up." "That was very good." "If only I had another life." "That's right." "I'm afraid I have to go." "We've had a good chat." "I've a seminar tomorrow and I haven't learnt a word." "You could help me." "Me?" "Go on, unless you want to sleep." "It's not because of sleep, it's because I'm ill-qualified." "It's only a beginner's course, child's play to you." "But it's vital for me, I've got a family to support." "Rum." "Have some!" "Have a steady drink." "Can you tell me what the Parliamentary Boycott was?" " If you kill me, i still won't know it." " Think, Pelikán." "Parliamentary Boycott?" "Everyone keep their mouth shut, I guess." "You see, you know it." "And what about the dictatorship of the proletariat?" "I know that." "It's when the proles dictate." "Don't you understand that?" "What about the three functions?" "I know one." "We must strike down the counter- revolutionary Fascist band." "Strike them down..." "And the other two?" "Isn't that enough?" " A drop more, then I may remember." " Then drink!" "I don't get it, it's never happened before." "If the executioner's ill, or got family business there's his deputy." "And if anything happens to the deputy, he's got a deputy." "I've never known an execution held up." " I can wait." " It's not good to wait." "Sit down." " Why should I sit down?" " It makes it a bit easier." "I don't get it." "Dr Kotász!" " By the way who is this Dr. Kotász?" " The state executioner." "Why the hell are you yelling at this hour?" "There's a condemned man here and there's no one to carry out the sentence." "We don't know what to do." "I'll be right down." "Who are you?" "József Pelikán." "Sorry to bother you, I'm the one, who should be hanged." "What shambles." "Well, congratulations, you're going to be rehabilitated." "I'd rather be hanged, please." "Rehabilitation means that you're innocent." "So hurry home now." "You'll get the money by post." "Could you tell me about Zoltán Dániel?" "He's been home a week now." "You gobbled the dumplings, you drank the wine." "You're not being hanged, you'll even got some cash." "What a gang!" "Why are you day-dreaming here?" "Clear off, before I lose my temper." " Can you tell me what day it is?" " Wednesday." " What month?" " April." " What's the level of the Danube?" " Do you want my fiancé, too?" "So Pelikán returned to the dam." "He did his job..." "Once again the years passed..." "What have you got against me?" "Comrade Virág, you are here?" "!" "How are you, Comrade Virág?" "These are the people I fought for." "I got a stomach ulcer because of them." "Never mind." "You'll all be begging me to come back one day." "I wouldn't like to swear to that." "Why does history go on like this?" "So that humanity can cheerfully take leave of its past." " Marx" "The end."