The Wind Is Whistling Under Their Feet
In the extensive restoration program of Hungarian film heritage led by the National Film Institute of Hungary (NFI), the films of these two filmmakers stand out for their uniqueness. After a few formidable offerings inspired by cinéma vérité, the former turned to a type of cinema influenced by American westerns, to the point of becoming the leader of a subgenre: the Goulash Western. The latter made a handful of magnificent experimental films and a masterpiece: Sinbad.
In the 1830s, Gyurka Farkas Csapó, the infamous highwayman of Karcag, is released from prison. The wealthy farmers commission gendarmery officer Balázs Mérges with his capture but the local shepherds, who feel their habitat is in as much danger from the network of canals being built by the landlords as the highwaymen, initially see an ally in Gyurka. However, his disciple who desperately wants to be a leader finally betrays him. György Szomjas was the first to transplant the Western genre into a Hungarian environment. His film draws equally on its American counterpart and the Italian spaghetti Western genre. (National Film Institute Hungary)
György Szomjas
György Szomjas was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 20 films from 1965 to 2021. His 1983 film Light Physical Injuries was entered into the Berlin International Film Festival. He is the father of the Hungarian Ostern, the Goulash Western. In the 1970s, he directed two osterns about Hungarian rascals, The Wind Blows Under Your Feet (1976), and Wrong-Doers (1979).
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