The Red and the White

Synopsis

In the flat, sunbaked river valley of central Russia during the brutal Russian Civil War of 1919, Red Bolsheviks (including Hungarian volunteers) and Tsarist White Guards exchange control of an Orthodox monastery turned field hospital, systematically capturing, stripping, and executing each other in continuous geometric movements across the landscape. Miklós Jancsó's formalist, choreography-driven anti-war masterpiece celebrated for its fluid, hypnotic widescreen tracking shots.