The Witness

The film The Witness (1969) by Hungarian director Peter Basco is a satirical exploration of the communist regime during the harsh paranoiac Stalin fueled era of communism. The film takes place during the most oppressive era in Hungarian history (’48-’56). Here we get a glimpse of an infrastructure built on grounds where any and everyone is a suspicious subject in the communist eye. This system is exploited and explored throughout the entire film. The films derisive humor obviously didn't go over well, which is why it was banned in Hungary until '81.

The story focuses mainly on Joszef Pelikan and his experience under the communist system. His run around starts when he’s arrested for illegally killing his pig in order to feed his family. However, instead of making an example out of Joszef they use him as a tool for their different ploys, including scripted show trials. When he’s released from prison he finds out that his offense no longer exists. Here we see the power of the government, and their ability to simply erase events from history however they please. This startles Joszef because he fesses up to slaughtering the pig, but the officials respond to him saying their never was a pig.

This same ride of satirical events continues as the film progresses. Virag, who pulled strings to get Joszef released from prison, now wants him to test against Zoltan, a so-called spy. The trial however isn’t hinged on any valid reason for suspicion; the trials are scripted. These show trials are a harsh reality of the communist regime where many officials were forced to say they were spies, fascists, etc. The show trials birthed out of Soviet paranoia of the 1930’s. Joszef’s experience in the show trial didn’t quite pan out as most trials did. He ends up confusing details, and emphasizes his limited capabilities. For example, his common response was to say, “I’m just an idiot” or “I don’t understand.” The ironic thing is that there wasn’t much to understand. Many of the decisions made by officials, and many of the trails, were hinged on trivial details, and non-sense.

Verag’s character adds a lot to the mordant wit of the film as well. He is physically worn away. His character almost seems like a robot where someone behind the scenes is pulling his strings. This is true, someone is obviously controlling him or else he wouldn’t be so worried about manipulating Joszef. However we never actually see who or what controls or influences Verag’s decision-making process. He also doesn’t eat much because of an ulcer, which is presumably affected by the amount of stress that is imposed on him from the party. Much like Joszef’s emphasis on his being an “idiot”, Verag is constantly emphasizing his paranoia saying “how can you be sure” or “not being suspicious is suspicious.” This distinct association shows that party as paranoid and the common man as unknowing.

The film overall really shows how the common man in his own way is a hero. Even though Joszef doesn’t quite understand the arbitrary actions of the party he consciously questions the validity and veracity of them. His run around with the party, going in and out of prison, reflects the instability of the communist infrastructure. The film doesn’t necessarily explore the horrors of communist oppression but attacks the historical issues in a mocking sardonic scope that allows the viewer to overcome the harsh past and learn from the experience.