THE UNKNOWN DESERTER (DER UNBEKANNTE DESERTEUR) 45/95 Hungarian Film Series

A thoughtful and visually stunning inquiry into the moral nature of obedience and military violence.
Two soldiers, imprisoned at the bottom of an empty swimming pool in the basement of a
villa exchange stories of their capture. One finds out that the other is the deserter he has been
sent to kill. On the day of the deserter’s execution, the roles become reversed. A powerful antiwar
statement with exquisite cinematography and superb character portrayals. Director Thomas Frick
came to th€ U.S. to make this film so that he could mix the tradition of film d’auteur with the
action, pacing, story structure and spectacle of American film.